SERDANG, Jan 12 — To Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) graduate Chow Heng Yee, the secret to her success as a double award winner was a giant calendar that decorated the wall of her dormitory room.
She said she had purposely plastered the giant calendar on the wall of the room so that she could keep tabs on her daily activities and balance her studies and other daily activities as she studied for her Bachelor of Science in Human Development degree.
Born in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Chow, 26, did exceptionally well in her studies, scoring 3.95 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and created history by winning two university awards at the 44th UPM Convocation Ceremony.
Chow, the daughter of a Grab driver, received the Royal Education Award for non-Bumiputeras at the fifth session of the convocation ceremony today from UPM Chancellor Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and the Tun Abdul Razak Award from Pro-Chancellor Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim at the first session last Saturday.
“I don’t like doing last-minute work. I lead an active student lifestyle, therefore, I need to plan and organise all my daily activities to ensure that my real task as a student is uninterrupted,” she said to Bernama today.
“On my oversized calendar, I would note down all my planned activities, including examination dates, tests and quizzes as well as all my extracurricular activities. My principle is to revise subjects at least a week before test day.
“I discover that some students cannot catch up with their studies because they like doing things at the last-minute,” she said.
A former honorary treasurer of the session 2018/2019 Student Representative Council and the second of three siblings, Chow had the opportunity to serve under Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran in the Perdana Felo programme.
She described her stint in the programme as invaluable because she got to apply her knowledge about the inner workings of the field of human resources in the government sector to look for potential job opportunities in that field in the private sector.
Chow, who now works at the human resources division of a rubber glove factory, said besides managing time, she said she was lucky as a student because she was mentored throughout her time at UPM.
Her first mentor was the Deputy Academic Dean of the Faculty of Human Ecology, Prof Rumaya Juhari who ensured she always excelled in her exams each semester as she she realised that Chow was a very active person in her extracurricular activities and diligent in helping students whenever they had difficulty understanding their lessons.
A counsellor, Zaim Rosli, served as her second mentor, and she sought him out for his advice each time she faced a problem either in her lessons or when she became demotivated.
“They were both very helpful throughout my studies. And I believe the awards that I have received were because of them apart from continuous encouragement from my family,” said Chow, who once volunteered as a teacher in Cambodia for six months.
— Bernama
