Adventurous spirit: Blood, trek and charity
As he trudged along the Mongolian highway, he tried not to think about the blisters that were multiplying on his feet. Cars zoomed past his lone figure while the heat enveloping him soared above 40 deg C.
In those moments, when the inner voices told him to give up, Singaporean Scott Tay dug deep to remind himself of his mission - to conquer his own limitations while doing good for others.
In April, the avid traveller who had been to 28 countries over nine years, and had just completed a six-month backpacking trip in Mongolia, realised he was losing the drive for roughing it.
Adventurous spirit: Cold slog with eye on South Pole
At age seven, Ms Eirliani Abdul Rahman somehow became convinced that she would die by the time she was 40. She has no idea where this belief came from, but she promised herself that she would achieve all she wanted to by then.
Now 40 years old, she is very much alive, and has done plenty.
She worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat, and co-founded the charity Youths, Adult Survivors And Kin In Need, which tackles child sexual abuse.
Adventurous spirit: Woman with a conquering attitude
The obsession with mountains for Ms Nur Yusrina Ya'akob - who recently became Singapore's first Malay woman to conquer Mount Everest - began with a poster.
When she was a first-year student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2006, she saw a poster featuring an NUS Centennial Everest Team that had successfully summited the world's highest peak the year before.
She took it home and put it on her bedside wall, where it stayed for four years. "I just loved it... It was beautiful, it looked very adventurous, and it made me want to go to the mountains."
Community spirit: Try a little kindness - it works magic
Magic tricks are often associated with deception and sleight of hand.
But there is a sincere motivation behind Dr Sin Yong's use of magic as a tool, to contribute to community bonds in his neighbourhood and encourage Singaporeans to be kinder to one another.
Dr Sin, 29, who works at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital's ear, nose and throat department, has been weaving messages of kindness into the magic shows that he stages in Ghim Moh.
Community spirit: A friend in need is a friend indeed
Housewife Veerama Talaniyandi Sivalinga, 66, has deep roots in the community in Marine Terrace, which has been her home for close to four decades.
A familiar figure in the neighbourhood, she organises block parties, Deepavali events as well as flea markets, which let residents generate extra income by selling used items.
And as an executive member of the Marine Terrace Breeze Residents Committee, she visits residents, listens to their woes and refers anyone who needs more help to WeCare@MarineParade, a community network that supports vulnerable residents.
Community spirit: Spreading the qi of community bonding
It is 8am on a rainy Wednesday, and a group of about 20 adults is focused on their qigong movements at an amphitheatre next to Tampines Park.
Leading them through the 90-minute session, a series of gentle body exercises, is Madam Jumiah Yunus, 73.
"It's raining, so there are fewer people... Usually there are around 0," she told The Straits Times.
Entrepreneurial spirit: Leading light of family's solar energy business
Having taken over the reins of the family's business in solar energy, Mr Frank Phuan, 40, considers himself a second-generation businessman. But there is no denying his entrepreneurial spirit nonetheless.
Over the years, he has expanded the family's business in solar energy into a group of companies - including the Sunseap Group, which made headlines in 2015 when it got a contract to supply tech giant Apple with 100 per cent renewable energy for its local operations.
In addition, Mr Phuan has been growing his family's vertical farming business, Packet Greens, since 2014, renting more space in an industrial building along Boon Lay Way to grow more crops.
Entrepreneurial spirit: The Ninja way to efficient delivery
The sight of a red-shirted, parcel- carrying ninja appearing on their doorstep just two days after placing an order online has become the norm for many cyber-shoppers here.
But when Ninja Van founder Lai Chang Wen, 29, started his delivery service in 2014 with two co-founders, such speed and efficiency at non-premium prices was unheard of.
While Mr Lai and co-founder Tan Bo Xian, 29, had start-up experience with their own online custom apparel shop, Marcella, before Ninja Van, they had no experience with logistics, which meant throwing themselves in at the deep end of things, said Mr Lai.
Sporting spirit: Fighting injury and pain to get back in the swim
Hit by a lorry while cycling along Woodlands Avenue 12 in October 2014, Jeremia Christy Suriadi's fledgling career as a triathlete looked to be over at the age of 17.
The then fifth-year Singapore Sports School student suffered compression fractures in seven vertebrae and a fractured hip bone, and was bedridden for two weeks.
Doctors warned that her mobility might be affected in the long run.
Sporting spirit: Punching above his weight to nurture young talent
For some, the fullest expression of a life dedicated to sport is found only after they have stepped away from the arena, helping others follow in their footsteps.
Mr Syed Abdul Kadir was 27 when he retired from competitive boxing in 1976 - just four years after competing in the Olympics - saying he did not enjoy the sport any more.
That might have been it for his involvement with the sweet science but for a remark from then International Boxing Association secretary-general Anwar Chowdhry.
Sporting spirit: Rolling back the years for the SEA Games
At his age, no one would fault national lawn bowler Chia Tee Chiak for choosing to kick back and relax in his retirement.
Instead, the 68-year-old is headed to Kuala Lumpur later this month as the oldest member of Singapore's SEA Games contingent, where he will try to win another medal for the Republic to add to his silver from the 2007 Games.
"Competing is always a challenge, I always want to beat the other guy. But the feeling is different when you get a medal," said Chia, who will compete in the men's doubles.
Inquisitive spirit: Putting law studies on hold to explore AI
Back in 2015, Mr Yap Jia Qing was just a freshly minted law student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) who had zero programming experience.
But that did not stop the 22-year-old, who discovered a new passion for artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, from signing up for a nine-week Web development boot camp and spending hours working through online courses in deep learning.
He subsequently took on positions as an instructor in data science and deep learning at two institutes here.
Inquisitive spirit: Relishing new chapter as a senior student
Mr Paul Ng could not help but feel apprehensive when he stepped into the classroom for his first lesson in business and big data analytics.
"I felt so out of place. I looked around me, the class age range - so young. And there I was, so senior," the 62-year-old recalled.
Mr Ng had attended more than 50 short-term courses on technical and interpersonal skills during the over three decades he had worked in the IT industry.
Inquisitive spirit: At 64, she's going for a doctorate next
At 64, Ms Prema Subramaniam is a grandmother of two, a kindergarten English teacher, a grassroots leader and a regular volunteer.
But despite her age and many hats, she is getting a doctorate in entrepreneurship to be completed by next year.
"I've been working and studying all my life. I can't stand being idle; I'm always on the search for know- ledge and answers," said Ms Prema, who is doing her degree part-time with an Australian university.
Compassionate spirit: Bringing fun and games to many lives
There are play activities in museums and arts centres that are free for children. But many children from low-income families do not go for these, for various reasons.
Freelance arts producer Lin Shiyun, 35, realised this after conducting an art workshop in 2011 at the Chinese Development Assistance Council, a self-help group, and met disadvantaged children who said they rarely had play time with their parents.
"Parents don't have the time to take them out as they are busy looking after other children in the family. They also don't have the money to travel to town for such activities," she told The Straits Times.
Compassionate spirit: She offers support to women and cancer patients
It has been more than 20 years, but 84-year-old Dincy Lim still remembers the first menopause support group meeting she hosted.
All the women were avoiding eye contact. Nobody wanted to be the first to talk about their condition.
"Twenty years ago, nobody even thought about menopause," Ms Lim said. "It was something so intimate, so private, that nobody wanted to touch on the subject."
Compassionate spirit: He has saved nearly 20 lives since age 13
The first time Muhammad Luqman Abdul Rahman saved a life, he was just 13 years old.
He had received his first aid certificate less than a month before, and was on the way home from school.
Then, the Singapore Civil Defence Force's MyResponder app alerted him that someone nearby needed help.