For Lynn Koh, a career in the skies once seemed like the perfect fit.
But a frightening experience during one flight — when a passenger she had been casually chatting with suddenly became critically ill and later died — would leave a lasting impression on her and eventually help shape the direction of her career.
Today, the 38-year-old former Singapore Airlines stewardess works in social services as the Head of Community Advancement at the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), where she leads a team focused on fundraising and partnerships to support cancer prevention, patients and survivors.
A normal conversation that suddenly changed
Koh was in her third year as a flight attendant when the incident happened on a flight bound for Auckland, New Zealand.
She recalled speaking casually with a middle-aged man who was travelling alone. At the time, there appeared to be nothing unusual about the interaction.
But about an hour later, after returning from her scheduled break, Koh was shocked to see her colleagues performing CPR on the same passenger.
The situation escalated quickly, and the flight was eventually diverted to Sydney, where authorities attended to the passenger, who had died.
Koh told Stomp that she did not have much time to process what had happened because she still had responsibilities on board. She had to maintain her composure and continue serving the other passengers.
The experience nevertheless stayed with her.
It served as a stark reminder that circumstances can change unexpectedly and that someone could begin a journey expecting to reach a destination only for their life to take a completely different turn.
Leaving the skies for a new challenge
Koh eventually decided to leave her role as an air stewardess.
She worked as a Singapore Airlines flight attendant from 2010 to 2014. In 2015, about a year after the incident, she moved into a corporate position within SIA’s loyalty marketing department.
There, she became involved in organising events and experiences for the airline’s top customers.
Although leaving the cabin crew role was difficult, Koh said she wanted to experience life “on the ground” and challenge herself by taking on something different.
She remained with SIA in the corporate role until 2018, when she left the airline altogether and began building a career in social services.
Her first role in the sector was with the National Council of Social Service, where she worked in philanthropy and community engagement for Community Chest.
She subsequently took on roles with organisations including the Agency for Integrated Care and the Football Association of Singapore.
Koh has now spent about eight years working in the social services sector.
A passion for helping others started earlier
Although the passenger’s death became an important turning point in Koh’s career, her interest in helping others did not begin with that experience.
While studying communications and new media at the National University of Singapore from 2007 to 2010, she participated in the Youth Expedition Project.
The programme brought her and other students to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where they volunteered at an orphanage.
The trips lasted about a month and involved activities including teaching English, refurbishing facilities and helping build a house for a local family.
Koh continued returning to the same orphanage even after graduating and joining SIA.
She would use her annual leave around the end of the year to organise trips with friends. The group would also raise funds and collect donations before travelling to Cambodia, bringing necessities and gifts for the community.
Although her work schedule eventually made the annual trips difficult to maintain, Koh has remained connected with some of the people she met there through social media.
Finding another personal connection through cancer
Koh’s current work at the Singapore Cancer Society also has a personal connection.
Her best friend, who is also in her 30s, was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago and is now a cancer survivor.
Her friend has two young children.
During her friend’s treatment and recovery, Koh and several friends rallied around her, regularly checking in and making themselves available whenever she or her family needed support.
Koh said she was particularly moved by her friend’s resilience and the way she navigated the experience with determination.
The diagnosis had also challenged Koh’s assumptions about who could be affected by cancer.
She said she had not expected someone so young to develop the disease.
Through her work at SCS, she has since gained a broader understanding of the prevalence of cancer and the need for support throughout a patient’s journey.
Helping cancer patients through her work
As Head of Community Advancement at SCS, Koh now leads a team of six responsible for fundraising and building partnerships for the organisation.
The Singapore Cancer Society provides services covering cancer prevention, screening and education, patient support, rehabilitation, financial and welfare assistance, psychosocial support, survivorship and home hospice care.
Her work therefore takes her far from the aircraft cabin where she began her professional career.
Instead of serving passengers travelling between destinations, she is now focused on building community support for people and families navigating cancer.
For Koh, the transition represents a different way of serving others — one that combines her professional experience with a long-standing interest in community work.
She still misses being a stewardess
Despite the career change, Koh has not lost her affection for her years in the skies.
She told Stomp that she misses being an air stewardess “every day”.
Looking back, she said that if friends asked whether she would choose the same career again, her answer would be yes.
“I will,” she said.
The cabin crew experience gave her memories and relationships that remain important to her, even though her career eventually moved in another direction.
But she also recognised that her passion for social services had become too strong to ignore.
The experience on the Auckland-bound flight may have reminded her of life’s uncertainty, but her journey since then has been shaped by something equally enduring: a desire to be there for people when they need support.
From volunteering in Cambodia as a university student to working with social-service organisations and eventually helping cancer patients and survivors, Koh’s career has taken her from the skies into a very different kind of service.
And while she may no longer spend her working days moving between countries, her focus remains on helping people through important moments in their lives.
