Gan Jia Huey

I was not always a good student. In my primary school years, my teachers described me as “the quiet girl who read storybooks during class.” I was not stellar in my academics; instead, I spent most of my time and energy in extra-curricular activities. I was in the Chinese Orchestra in primary school, and in secondary school, I was in the interact Club. Although I am grateful that my parents did not pressure me to have good grades, I still felt like my grades were not good enough. However, it was only when I entered college in Sunway, I was able to turn things around. I told myself that I wanted to become a good student. So, I did whatever a good student would do. I took notes in class, studied hard for exams, and clarified with my lecturers whenever I was confused. Surprisingly, just by doing what a good student would do, I soon achieved good grades and became the “good student” in the eyes of my lecturers and my fellow friends. It was not always easy-going; there were times where I felt I was just an imposter, and I was not smart enough to get the results I wanted. Nevertheless, I thank God that I maintained a CGPA of 4.0 in my Foundation Programme at the end of college and continued my passion for extra-curricular activities like teaching in my church’s Sunday School, learning Grade 7 in classical guitar, and involving myself in the Sunway College Student Council.

So when I came back to Sunway to pursue a degree in Psychology, I was glad to find out that I was eligible for the Chancellor Scholarship. Being told that it was the most prestigious scholarship in Sunway did not help my confidence. Yet, I told myself, “if you never try, you never know” and applied for it anyway. Not long after the interview, I got a call informing me that I was awarded the scholarship, and the rest is history. Moreover, when I entered Sunway University, I knew I wanted to be a change-maker, so I became the Secretary of the Sunway University Student Council (SUSC). My time in SUSC was significant as I learned so much about being a leader as well as tried my best to make changes in the university, which would be beneficial for all students. Furthermore, my greatest achievement in SUSC was leading a committee of 5 people with the help of our advisor in organising SUSC’s annual Elections, which involved getting the Sunway University student community to vote for their next leaders of SUSC, all during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our team was able to successfully organise the Elections through virtual meetings, social media marketing, and managed to achieve more students to vote compared to previous elections. Although I have stepped down from SUSC, I am only halfway through my Sunway University journey. I hope to continue gaining knowledge, building meaningful relationships and giving back to the community.

If you had to take away one thing from #MySunwayStory, just know this, it all starts with an IDENTITY. Who do you want to become? What type of person do you want to be? Next, do everything a person with that identity would do. Before you know it, you have become the person you always wanted to be. So start by changing your identity, and who knows what amazing things you’ll achieve along the way.

Gan Jia Huey
BSc (Hons) Psychology
The Chancellor's Scholarship of Sunway University & Lancaster University