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Singapore American School
40 Woodlands Street 41
Singapore, North East, 738547
Singapore

Anjali Mehta

Anjali Mehta is a junior at Singapore American School as well as a yoga instructor and yoga therapist. When Anjali started yoga, she was 10 years old. Amidst the extreme expectations for her future, yoga brought her comfort and relaxation; after training to teach at Vyasa Yoga, she started teaching at only 14 years old. She has taught at many places, including the Indian High Commission, Nola Yoga, as a PE teacher for the elementary school at SAS, and even as a trainer for future yoga instructor. Her passion for yoga is boundless, and she plans to continue her involvement for years to come. Other than yoga, Anjali shares a deep passion for clinical psychology which she would like to pursue in the future. She is also a major foodie, writing, reading and is a guitar and badminton player.

Claire Berggren

Claire Berggren is a senior at Singapore American School. She saw a different side of life when her twin brother was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma cancer as a freshman; Claire knows the Singaporean hospital system from personal experience as she stood by her brother during his treatments for eighteen months until complications claimed his life. Her exposure to the resiliency of cancer patients, as well as the complex relationship between patient and doctor, cultivates her passion for research in the medical spectrum of integrative cancer care to help patients cope with distress and increase their quality of life. She will be pursuing her academic interests within the field of healthcare research and psychology in university next year. Claire’s passion for enabling cancer patients continues on in supporting the Love, Nils annual toy drive for pediatric cancer patients that she and her family created at National University Hospital Singapore.

Matthew Elms

Matthew, an 8th grade social studies teacher at Singapore American School for 12 years, currently lives in Singapore with his wife and high school student, Callie. His other two children, Cameron and Alicia, are tackling university at Western Washington, just north of Seattle. He enjoys traveling around the world and learning about different people, places, and events. He is also the author of When The Akimotos Went To War. When he is not researching history topics on his own, he enjoys making the lives of his students difficult.

Matthew Oey

Matthew Oey evaluates the powerful positive effects video games can have on changing one’s life and enhancing their test taking abilities. Through funny narratives of his gaming experiences and relatable stories about his parents’ lack of approval, Matthew takes us on a journey of how video games transformed his life.

Roopal Kondepudi

Roopal Kondepudi, senior, is a Geek Girl: CSar of Computer Science Club, founder of Geek Girls SAS, and programmer on the SAS robotics team. Roopal is a Girl Scouts Ambassador and recipient of the prestigious Girl Scouts Gold Award. In college, she hopes to major in computer science. Her latest project tackles a global issue - the Digital Divide. As a Global Ambassador of Global Issues Network, Roopal leads the Digital Divide committee and has created a curriculum for a basic computer skills class that is being taught in underprivileged schools all over the world. When she's not coding, she's writing short stories, playing with her dog Chessy, or exploring Singapore with friends.

Topaz Winters

Topaz Winters is a writer and junior at SAS. From ages 15 to 17, she was diagnosed in succession with depression, anxiety, hyperacusis, and OCD; through the years, she has used words both to guide her own healing process and reach out to the neurodivergent community she has found online. Her poetry, essays, and fiction at topazwinters.com have been recognized by the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and the National YoungArts Foundation, profiled in The Huffington Post and Cicada Magazine, and read by millions around the world. Topaz is the author of Heaven or This (2016) and Monsoon Dream (Platypus Press, 2016), and the youngest Singaporean ever to be nominated for the Pushcart Prize, America’s most prestigious literary award. She is grateful you’re here.