Athlete Success Stories

TeamSG Hurdler, Calvin Quek, holds national records and won Singapore's first SEA Games gold in the 400m hurdles in 60 years at the 2025 Bangkok Games. After graduating in 2022 with Honours in Sport Management, he struggled to find employment that would accommodate his training schedule.

Through spexBusiness networking in late 2022, Calvin connected with Octagon and secured a Graduate Trainee position. "My experience working at Octagon has been great. From the time I joined Octagon as a graduate trainee, everyone has been very friendly and supportive of my sporting career. I was able to build my career, develop skills and progress in the corporate world while still being able to pursue my sport," said Calvin.

Calvin praised the spexCareer Programme Office: "Bernard and Apple have been very helpful the whole process. They made me welcome at the networking session and took the initiative to catch up with me post session on how things went, reminding me to follow up with the companies that I'm interested in finding out more about the job opportunities."

"Octagon is proud to support emerging sporting talent through the spexBusiness Program, providing opportunities to work within the broader sport industry sector and gain exposure to potential future career opportunities whilst simultaneously enabling their continued pursuit as a professional athlete," said Jo Warnes, Managing Director, Octagon Singapore.

Ryan Lo won gold at the 2025 SEA Games Men's ILCA 7 event and placed 14th at the 2025 ILCA 7 World Championship in China—the best Asian result at this LA 2028 qualification event. He also won gold at the 2022 Asian Games.

Ryan is studying International Business at James Cook University Singapore (JCUS) after transferring from Erasmus University in the Netherlands. His challenge was finding education that accommodated his training schedule and competitions whilst continuing his studies.

The spexEducation Programme Office connected Ryan with JCUS, a spexEducation partner implementing athlete-friendly practices. JCUS recognised his prior education and accepted him into their Business programme, enabling completion in under 18 months.

JCUS provides exceptional support through flexible leave arrangements for training camps and competitions, online syllabi for travel, and a 50% scholarship. This allows Ryan to pursue academic excellence whilst competing at international sailing's highest levels.

Reflecting on his journey, Ryan shared: "spexEd PO has helped me in reaching out to universities to facilitate the process of choosing a university and finding out the various support schemes available to balance between academics and sports. Through the various partnerships with respective universities, I was able to get a lot of information to help with my decision to choose a university best suited for both sporting and academic excellence."