When Grab driver-partner Leong Kok Yuan was diagnosed with cancer in late 2024, life suddenly came with a lot more to manage.
Between hospital appointments, treatments, scans, and recovery routines, the 55-year-old continued driving, adjusting his schedule around his medical care so he could keep supporting his family.
Watching him press on through all of it left a deep impression on his daughter, 20-year-old Leong En Xi.
Image courtesy of Grab
Now, she hopes to pursue a career in research to help cancer patients, too.
En Xi is one of 10 recipients of Grab Singapore’s 2026 Emerald Circle Scholarship, a bond-free award of up to S$15,000 each for children of the platform’s driver- and delivery-partners pursuing university education.
Selected from nearly 300 applications, this year’s recipients were recognised for their academic achievements, as well as their efforts to give back to the community.
Since the programme was introduced in 2018, Grab’s Emerald Circle Scholarships and Bursaries have supported more than 3,070 students and families in Singapore, including over 70 university scholarships and more than 3,000 bursaries.
Image courtesy of Grab
MS News spoke with three of this year’s scholars, who shared how their parents’ sacrifices shaped the way they see the world, and how the scholarship is helping them take their next step.
Long before her father’s diagnosis, En Xi had already developed an interest in healthcare.
A pharmaceutical science diploma graduate, she interned at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), expecting the environment to feel heavy and sombre.
“I thought it would be very depressing,” she recalled. “But a lot of the cancer patients were super enthusiastic and excited to go for their treatment.”
Seeing patients face treatment with such strength, and watching doctors and research coordinators work closely with them, sparked her interest in cancer research.
Her father’s diagnosis months later made that interest feel even more personal.
Image courtesy of Grab
Mr Leong had spent 25 years in the gas and chemicals industry before losing his job during a company restructuring. He later joined Grab as a driver.
Even after being diagnosed with colorectal neuroendocrine cancer in December 2024, he continued working, adjusting his driving hours so he could attend treatment, rest properly, and maintain a healthier routine.
For En Xi, watching her father juggle work and illness showed her what resilience really looks like.
Now a first-year Life Sciences student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), she hopes to pursue research and contribute to the development of new cancer treatments.
Receiving the Grab Emerald Circle Scholarship means she can focus more fully on her goal, with less worry about university expenses.
And one day, she hopes her father will see that everything he has gone through helped inspire something meaningful.
I hope that at the end of the day, I’ve been able to give something back to the community.
Like En Xi, 18-year-old Tara Anaiya is pursuing Life Sciences at NUS and hopes to use science to improve lives.
For her, that means researching neurodegenerative diseases and making healthcare more accessible across Southeast Asia.
Image courtesy of Grab
Having grown up in Indonesia, Tara saw how different healthcare access could be compared to Singapore, an experience that made her want to help bridge those gaps.
Even before university, she had started exploring ways to do that.
During her school years, she developed a device prototype for sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.
She also improved workflow efficiency while interning at a clinic, and volunteers to tutor underprivileged children, encouraging them to consider careers in science.
Through these experiences, Tara realised that making healthcare more accessible isn’t always just about creating new treatments.
Sometimes, it starts with helping people understand what they are going through.
“I think it’s a really beautiful thing to educate people and make them more aware,” she said, recalling how some people she met had not realised sleep apnea was a recognised medical condition.
For Tara, the scholarship is helpful not only because of the financial support, but also because it gives her more room to focus on school and research.
Without it, she said she would likely have to spend more time working part-time and worrying about university costs.
Image courtesy of Grab
She also hopes the scholarship eases the burden on her father, the family’s sole breadwinner, who has been a Grab partner for around a year and a half.
“I see my dad work hard every day and come home late,” she said. “I think that really pushed me to help him in my own way.”
While En Xi and Tara hope to make a difference through science, 21-year-old Nirvashini D/O Pannirselvam’s path begins with stories.
An English major at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Nirvashini moved from science to business before eventually finding her place in the arts and discovering a passion for writing.
Image courtesy of Grab
Her goal is to write novels that encourage young adults to see life through different perspectives.
“As someone who overthinks a lot, I want to show that I can think from other people’s perspectives and bring their stories to life as well,” she said.
Receiving the Grab Emerald Circle Scholarship gave her more than financial support. It also reassured her that pursuing a creative path was something worth taking seriously.
“I felt like this scholarship helped a lot in changing my mindset that there are people in Singapore who support what I want to do,” she said.
For Nirvashini, writing has already shown her how stories can bring people together.
While studying at Millennia Institute, she interviewed teachers, classmates, and school leaders before writing ‘Be Brave’, a song commemorating the school’s 20th anniversary.
The project taught her that writing could help people feel seen and show a different side of a community they thought they already knew.
“The whole process taught me that when I put my heart into giving back to the community, it can really make a difference,” she told MS News.
Although their dreams are very different, the three scholars have something in common.
Behind each of them is a parent who kept going so their children could have more opportunities.
Some worked long hours. Some rebuilt their lives after losing a job. Some pushed through illness while still showing up for their families.
For Grab, the Emerald Circle Scholarship is one way of supporting driver- and delivery-partners beyond their work on the platform.
Image courtesy of Grab
The scholarship recognises students who have done well academically while also finding ways to give back to their communities.
For En Xi, that may one day mean helping to develop better cancer treatments.
For Tara, it could mean making healthcare easier to access across Southeast Asia.
For Nirvashini, it may come through stories that help others see the world differently.
Their paths may not look the same, but they all began from a similar place: with parents who kept going through life’s challenges, hoping their children could go even further.
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Featured image courtesy of Grab.