A Significant Decision Made Three Years Ago

Bet many of you are familiar with the university above. Yup, it’s UCSI University – the Praxis University which has recently been featured as Malaysia’s Top Private University in 2019 QS World University Rankings. How does it relate to my topic here today? Sit back and relax.

Three years ago, I was a fresh SPM leaver from SMK Seri Bintang Utara, waiting for my result.

With that said, it was time to really think of what’s next to come. Remember when we were 18 years old, and worried about our pending decisions on what our future paths would be?

While others had figured it out and were already pursuing their dreams?

Being someone who was indecisive, I was quite lost and clueless in choosing which programme and which university to proceed with. However, there’s one thing I was certainly sure of – I was a Science stream student who loves Science, but not Science exams.

Not knowing how, I started looking for part-time jobs, hoping to get some answers.

While working as a kindergarten assistant teacher back in my own kindergarten, I felt so good being able to be surrounded by the little ones. This struck my mind and I began searching for an early childhood-related programme. Throwing back to the time when I still read the traditional newspaper, I came across UCSI University. It was an advertisement featuring a graduate from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts. At that age, I only knew two streams: Science and Art. Without any knowledge about this area, I researched on this particular faculty of this particular university out of curiosity.

I then consulted the course counsellor, compared similar courses offered by other universities, asked for useful advices, performed a thorough reflection, and that’s when I made a significant decision. I signed up for the Foundation in Arts programme leading to Bachelor of Arts (Hons) English Language and Communication, which I found out to be most suitable for myself, right after receiving my SPM exam results. Apparently, UCSI University is the only university that offers this exact course in Malaysia.

The one-year Foundation studies was indeed an awesome one.

In the beginning, maybe it was the new environment or my timidity, I appeared to be a little introverted, who loved to spend my break time alone in the library.

However, this situation did not last for long to an outgoing person like me. Group study, group assignment and group discussion were the attributions to my university social life whereby I have friends from different streams, pathways and nationalities.

Apart from that, the syllabus itself was broad and dynamic, covering the aspects of business, accounting, computing, writing and most importantly language – an area I became unexpectedly interested in after meeting a brilliant language tutor in upper primary school.

Besides, another programme to be highlighted is the Peer Assisted Learning (P.A.L.) sessions. P.A.L. programme is the university’s initiative to cultivate an excellent learning culture through student to student (s to s) method of delivery. All sessions are conducted by trained student mentors who were ex-students of the course itself and no tuition fees will be incurred towards the mentees. It is a win-win situation for both mentors and mentees as guiding another is one of the best ways to develop mastery while learning from a peer allows greater understanding due to the shared discourse.

Then, no surprises, I continued with my degree here. As a Year-Two-Semester-Three English Language and Communication (ELC) student, I am contented and satisfied with what I have been through within the past five semesters of studies. The nature of this programme is skewed towards practical training which includes a lot of hands-on tasks, but do not get me wrong as theories are still the foundation after all.

In my first year degree, I had led a committee team in organising a workshop entitled “The Future Trend and Importance of English Language” as part of our assignment under the course Principles and Practices in Language Teaching. With the kind guidance and great support from the lecturer, our event turned into a success. This workshop allowed us to put practicality in language as this is a type of fluid learning with a more hands-on approach format, which PPLT course promoted.

I would say I certainly agree on the theory “Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn”.

Most of the time, we only start seeing things from different perspectives than before through continuous practising. In spite of having experience in hosting events previously, practising helps to enhance valuable leadership skills, teamwork and effective communication skills. After all, I am proud to say that our achievement through this event does bring an impact not only to us but the participants as well.

Later on, in my second year, I was pleased with the Department of English Language and Communication’s sponsorship on bringing all ELC students to the 12th International Free Linguistics Conference 2018 which was held at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Attending a conference was one of my to-do lists as a language student as it is clearly a good way to gain knowledge for research conducting. From this, I came across people working in the area of language sciences and listened to their diverse perspectives, practices and research which helped me to progress further throughout the journey.

On top of that, with UCSI University rapidly expanding and receiving students from over 110 nations, we students are given the opportunity to indulge in the global university experience.

This feature of UCSI University definitely adds up to the list of key highlights as language students are able to communicate and interact with people of different nationalities and to explore their cultural background in Malaysia itself. Moreover, the small class setting matters in ELC programme.

Small class size promotes team cooperation, encourages engagement, enhances presentation skills as small class environment offers a safe and welcoming space for students to speak up and contribute during class. This setting also allows the instructor to better detect the issues student encountered and creating lesson plans that cater to the students for optimal learning.

Last but not least, the mandatory co-operative placement that requires students to undergo a minimum of two-month internships at the end of each academic year is truly a blessing to all students.

I appreciate this chance as I am able to have a sneak peek into the real working world in a full-time position before graduating and be able to make the necessary adjustments to my personal self in embracing future career pathways.

The experience I have acquired from the previous internship in Sunway Velocity Mall Sdn Bhd last November and December were fruitful. Working in a fast pace corporate group have trained me in becoming a wiser planner and a better communicator in both speaking and writing. Stay tuned for my next blog post on my internship experience.

I am now left with four semesters to go and I am going to cherish every moment I have here because what’s next will be twenty or thirty years of working life.

Enjoy the moment when I can still declare myself as a student, a UCSIan!