How to Make Full Use of Universities' Life

17th April 2009 already, so it is 2.5 weeks since the U.S. admission decision was out. Some of you were thrilled, some of you were happy, some of you were ok with it, some of you were sad, some of you were depressed.

I hope that you have come back to reality. To those of you who have gotten in to your dream schools, I would say Congratulations and do make full use of the opportunities. To those of you who got into your safeties, I would still say Congratulations and do make full use of the opportunities. To those of you who has not yet gotten into any university or any of your dream university, I would say that you should never give up, and also not forget to make full use of the opportunities that you are going to have.

Frankly speaking, getting in is just the first step. Some might still be on cloud nine. Yes, you deserve to be so, but I hope that come August, when you hop into the plane, you can be back to be level-headed and focus on your mission, vision and dream.

My this blog post would share on my thoughts to all of you on how to make full use of university life. I have to admit that I fail to make use of my university life. I was pretty much not well exposed when I made the journey. I was struggling initially, and in fact, for quite a long time. I didn't manage to really live up to what I should be doing there. Nevertheless, I would say that I have learned a lot throughout my 4 years there. It was a whole world of change.

Before the journey on the morning of 20th August 2001 from KLIA, I had never taken a plane before. I had never really spent time with an American before. My English command was horrendous. I don't have world view. I was still stuck with my world of knowing stuff that was carried in The Star, and nothing else. That was my world. My first non-textbook English book was "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, a required reading by my alma mater. It was horrible trying to read a thick English book. I can't recall how many times I fell asleep on the bed trying to read it. To be frank, the words might have been read, but literally I don't understand it.

Okie, lets look forward, and not backward. But what I am trying to do here, is to share what I know, especially to those of you who might come from same background as I. Each of us has different background. While some might be very well exposed, not everyone is as fortunate. I know that some of you who got into very prestigious universities are still in the state of daze. I was too. I never expected myself to get into Cornell. My SAT was one of the weakest among those who applied. I had no national or international credentials. I was never a straight As students.

So, to those of you in those background, don't give up. It will be a struggle, but I hope you can prepare from now, and you will be better off in 4 months' time, when you make your journey over. Don't compare with others who start from different starting line. Main thing is you need to breakthrough yourself. There might be frustrating moment, there might be stressful moment, there might be time that you would be crying, there might be time that you would want to give up. All these not meant to scare you, but to tell you that the journey that you might have to go through. It is not an easy journey, but everything starts from your first step. Make the step ahead. You have gotten the opportunities, wherever you are going to study. To those of you who are staying back for another year, don't give up. Learn as much as you can. There are still a lot of resources online. Do keep up the learning.

While during the application processes, I might have stressed that you should try your best to get into best possible universities, but at this stage, what I will stress is that irrespective of where you are going to head to, make full use of it. What matters is your utilization of the opportunities. You could be at world's best institution and never make use of the opportunities.

Some of the ways that you can utilize during your university time include (in no particular order):-
a) Have fun! Try to enjoy your campus life. If you don't, then there is no meaning in life. So, main thing is explore on stuff that you like to do, or want to do and do it!

b) Before you set out for the journey, try to list down maybe 10 or 20 of stuff that you really hope to do in your life, and during your university days, do go and get those done. You will be able to achieve some of those, no matter how large is the dream. Be willing to dream big. Dream big is one of the most important elements of life. Tony Fernandes gave me 3 words "Dare to Dream", Idris Jala gave me 3 words too "Dream the Impossible". Both the sharings has the word "Dream".

c) Plan your time, at least for each semester or each week/day. Structure your life, so that you can optimize it. Of course, not meant to be fully rigid. Be flexible, but plan it, and mark down the stuff that you want to do.

d) Never procrastinate (Tara's favourite word... hahaha). If there is an interesting opportunity/event etc that you hope to participate, do join it from year 1. Don't wait till the last year, or you might never have the chance to do it.

e) If you have passion in research or plan to go for Master's/PhD, then do start doing research from year 1. Read up about the professor's research, go and meet them during office hour, and start from there!

f) Do attend the office hours of professors/teaching assistants. Those are great time for you to learn from them. Discuss not just about homework/exam, but learn from them in general.

g) Time Management is very crucial. If you can't manage your time well, you will have a hell of time in your university life. Especially if you are taking heavy workload and busy juggling with a lot of other activities.

h) Load yourself with enough load. As most universities give you a free hand in choosing how heavy your workload, do choose appropriately. Measure based on how much workload you think you can take, while not jeopardizing your other stuff. Make full use of those.

i) Take courses that you like. While you might be majoring in a field, do try to explore to take courses that you hope to learn something from, or something that you hope to pick up a skill or two that will be helpful in your life. Be proactive in planning and don't forgo the opportuniites to take a course, because you are afraid that you can't do well in it. Don't think in that manner.

j) Mingle with others. I am not saying that you shouldn't mingle with Malaysians, but you should mingle with others too. Try to go beyond your comfort zone and mingle. The Malaysians or Asians could be your supportive group, and there is nothing wrong in mingling with them. Actually, you shouldn't fully alienate this group too. But strike a balance, maybe spend 2 nights a week having dinner with the Malaysians, but not all 7 nights.

k) Explore new experience. Don't just get involved with only those stuff that you have done before. Nothing wrong exploring further on those of your passion, but takes the chance to do something new. It could be a new sport, a new discipline, a new type of activity etc.

l) Attend public lectures. This is my favourite. I attended 200+ of those during my free time in my university days. These sharings by those who have been there and done that, would help you to prepare for your future. You name it, those Nobel Prize Winners, Presidents/Prime Ministers, CEOs, academicians, NGOs, activists etc will be there to speak. Choose those that you want to listen and learn from.

m) University is the time to take risk and try out. No harm in trying out things and fail. It is a platform for you to learn and grow.

n) Share what you know with others, and learn from others. University environment provides a lot of networking opportunities with fellow students and others. And everyone there is a potential source of your learning. While you are waiting for bus, while you are hanging out at your dorm's lounge, strike a conversation with others. You might create awareness in others or learn from others.

o) Campus is not your limit. The sky is. Go and explore opportunities beyond your campus, be it for international conferences, international research, study abroad, research programs, outreach program, internships, externships, shadowing etc. Some of those international conferences could include Business Today International Conference, Harvard Project for Asian & International Relations (HPAIR) Business/Academic Conference, International Youth Leadership Conference, DOHA International Conference, South East Asia Youth Leadership Service Network (SEALNet), Wharton Global Conoference, China Synergy Programme for Outstanding Youth, World Youth Congress etc.

p) Traveling. During holidays, do go out and travel. Save up during semester and travel. It will broaden your horizon. Don't just go to those mega cities, but walk into civilizations, go into nature, go into new areas that you have never explored, and try to interact with the community there. Observe the people there. It is a lot of learning.

q) Try out the food from around the world. There are just so much new and interesting food around. Do try it. Yes, today, this effect is not as huge, as a lot of food chains are now here. But no harm trying a good meal. Do try to mingle with people during meal time too. Like during lunch/dinner, just sit down with strangers in dining hall and strike a conversation! :)

r) Fraternities/Sororities, while not everyone would want to be part of it, or not everyone will get used to those kind of life, do explore it as well. Maybe could be attend occasional parties there, visit your friends there etc. The network is something to learn and build too.

s) Give back to community there. Get involved in charity/community stuff there. It is a good way to know more about the people that live there. Interaction there will give you learning, while the people there will learn too.

t) Learn from the world, be it internet, libraries etc. Don't stop learning and don't just learn because it is going to be tested in exams. Education is way beyond it. It is about wholesome education and really learn how to learn.

u) Alumni network is crucial. Build up the ties, where it will become a community of learning together. Support one another, and this network will be applicable throughout your life.

v) While you need to put in the hours to get all the homework done, rush all the projects, and be ready for exams, don't let this be the only thing in your educational experience. Those are an integral part, but not let this affects your other parts of life.

w) Sports is a big part of university education, be it participate in it or attending those sports events. I definitely have a lot of memorable time in Lynah Rink, cheering for the Big Red ice hockey team.

x) Do internship. It will prepare you for the career world, especially if you are looking to go into career world after that. If you can't get a good internship in the summer of year 1, no harm getting it back home, but do explore different internships, and it could be ticket to your permanent job offer.

y) Whenever you need help, do ask for it. Whenever you need support, do ask for it. Don't be alone to go through it. The same if others need your help/support, do provide for them too.

z) And the most important thing is share with others what you know. Help others to reach their dream. While you might not realize it, what little effort that you have done, could mean a lot to some people. Lets make this world a better place and lets help others to reach their dream too!

I've finished all 26 alphabets. Guess I should stop. Before I end, I should say that attitude/character is very crucial. Start your university life with the right mentality. Go there with some self-confidence, but don't forget to stay humble. It is a platform for you to learn and grow and do go for it.

I wish you all the best and hope that you could share more ways to make full use of univesities life here too! (I know you're gonna say Facebook! Yes, it is true, Facebook, Gmail, Gchat, MSN is important too to keep in touch with others and make your work more efficient!


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