PRIDE: UCSI vice-chancellor and president Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff (middle) standing proudly with UCSI’s top scorers for the GCE A-Level November 2014 exam.

STAY MOTIVATED: UCSI’s vice-chancellor and president Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff encouraging the top scorers to continuously achieve.

BRIGHT LEARNER: Top scorer Kevin Yapp, who scored 2A*s and 2As in the GCE A-Level November 2014 exam, is grateful for the new experiences gained after joining A-Levels at UCSI.

“Put your heart and soul into what you are doing for your future because all those years ahead of you mean nothing unless you do something substantial today.” 

Those were words of advice from UCSI University’s (UCSI) vice-chancellor and president Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff’s to the top scorers of the GCE A-Level November 2014 exam during an informal tea session on February 10, 2015. 

The session was a gathering of top scorers with their parents and UCSI academics including Centre for Pre-U Studies director Assistant Professor Dr Mabel Tan, who was proud of the students’ determination and efforts to achieve good results. 

Notably, the University’s A-Level Academy – under the Centre – has a long track record of high achievers and this is backed by the fact that the Academy achieves – every year. 

In last year’s November exam, the Academy recorded a 99.5% pass rate and almost 30% of its students scored straight A’s. 

These statistics successfully illustrate that excellence is an integral part of the culture at the Academy, but more important than that is its steadfast commitment to ensure all aspects of its students’ growth, personally and academically, are nurtured. 

Well-rounded learner 

Take for example Neo Wan Qing who scored 4A*s in the exam and is also an active contestant in multiple district and state-level competitions. 

Inspired by her older brother who is currently reading the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) at UCSI, Neo decided to follow her sibling’s footsteps and enrol for A-Levels at the University. 

She explains that the programme has benefited her greatly and intensified her desire to further her studies in Medicine. 

“A-Levels taught me to think proactively and helped me become more mature and independent. And although I found some of the subjects challenging, I learned a lot,” said Neo, who credits her lecturers for making learning fun. 

“The talks and career carnivals organised by the University, and conversations with the lecturers about my future plans – all these were also really motivating and kept me on the right path.” 

A prodigious student who enjoys learning inside and outside the classroom, Neo is the treasurer in UCSI’s Hope Revive Club – one dedicated to organising charity events – and was also part of the committee for Go Green Week 2013, an event highlighting the importance of the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – among the students. 

Embracing new experiences 

All-rounders like Neo abound in the Academy and Kevin Yapp Jun Hao is also one of these bright sparks. 

Yapp, who scored 2A*s and 2As in the same exam, was also the organising chairperson for UCSI’s very first leadership forum – namely, “Meet the Leaders” – where Shanghai Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf business development director Phng Li Kheng shared her entrepreneurial story with the students. 

“This was my first time leading an event so I felt intimidated by the pressure. I’m grateful that our advisors were very helpful and encouraging,” says Yapp, who is in the UCSI Scholars’ Club (U-SchoS), a student association formed by scholarship recipients. 

“UCSI provided me with the platform to familiarise myself with the process of organising events and work with people at various levels – an opportunity I would not have had if I wasn’t here.” 

From Yapp’s sentiments, it is evident that students at UCSI enjoy many avenues to learn new skills. But more importantly, students also learn the importance and true meaning of ‘giving back’. 

A member of “Hands of Hope”, a community project initiated by U-SchoS, Yapp has spent a month teaching underprivileged children from the Chin tribe in Burma. 

“It was fun bringing makeshift kitchen chemistry to the children as they never had the opportunity to observe any real-life scientific experiments before,” enthuses Yapp, adding that he was assigned to teach children aged 13 to 17. 

“Everything I have experienced so far – from leading an event featuring top industry leaders to volunteering as a teacher to underprivileged children – are all new and incredible. I really made the right decision signing up for A-Levels at UCSI.” 

As evidenced by Neo and Kevin, A-Levels at UCSI is so much more than just learning by the book; it’s about shaping students to become all that they can be.