In 2016, things didn't go as hoped, expected and planned for 17-year-old Raenu as I did not score a string of As in SPM. Little did I know that the lack of excellent grades would lock me out of so many opportunities such as receiving an offer to pursue matriculation and secure a scholarship. With only 6 As and 3Bs, I went on to miss opportunities to apply for scholarships during the scholarship application season. This was because I did not meet the minimum academic requirement (7As) for many of them despite excelling in other areas such as extracurricular activities. 

My background, circumstances and academic qualifications meant that most opportunities were unavailable/unfavourable. Coming from a single-parent household, I knew that my mother wasn’t going to be able to sponsor me a full ride through university and I had to rely on a scholarship to access higher education. I applied for scholarships despite knowing my ineligibility and wrote letters to scholarship providers with the hope that someone would give me a chance. Although I expected rejections from most applications, I knew that I would miss a shot that I didn’t take. My instincts were proven right as I received multiple emails of rejection and was accustomed to them.

One Foundation, in particular, decided to give me a chance. On the interview day, I sat outside the interview room with students who scored 9, 10, and even 11 A’s. I was quite convinced that I was merely just a wild card. To my surprise, the interviewers did not see me as unaccomplished just because I fell short of a few A’s but instead focused on my will, passion, and ambition. In fact, not many questions about my academic qualifications. After that interview, I received an email stating that I was awarded the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation Scholarship to pursue the Foundation in Science and Technology programme and later another scholarship to pursue the BSc Psychology (Hons) at Sunway University. 

Throughout university, I began to recognise that the higher education landscape is not an even playing field and often wondered about students who were locked out of opportunities to access it due to similar circumstances. My personal experience navigating the tertiary education landscape motivated me to champion fairer higher education access. During my final year of university, I joined the Closing The Gap programme as a Mentor to a Form 5 student and took on the role to support and guide her as she navigated the transition into university. Beyond my personal mentoring experience, the CTG journey also shed light on the many other barriers that students from underrepresented communities face when accessing higher education.

Acknowledging that more work had to be done in the HE space, I joined the Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation to empower young Malaysians aged 16 to 25 especially those from B40 communities to achieve their aspirations through the Closing The Gap (CTG) programme and Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship (BTAR). The Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship has taken the lead to shift the direction of scholarships to be more equitable in nature with a focus on select Scholars who demonstrate strong grit, leadership potential and reflective ability while taking into consideration a candidate's unique circumstances and backgrounds, instead of focusing on academic results in isolation.

As part of my work at YTAR, I had the honour of being a part of the selection panel for the 2021 Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship as I was given the opportunity to review applications and conduct interviews with shortlisted candidates. Although reviewing hundreds of applications and sitting through interviews for more than a month was an exhausting process, it surely was a fulfilling experience. It was surreal to be involved in the process through the lens of a scholarship provider. This process of selecting our next cohort of Tunku Scholars has not only reminded me of my North Star but also the importance of inclusive and holistic assessments of an individual’s potential. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my manager, Ida Thien, for entrusting me to conduct scholarship interviews independently after observing the tactful yet respectful art of interviewing candidates. Do stay tuned as we will be revealing our next cohort of Tunku Scholars in the upcoming months.

Yesterday as we wrapped up the selection process with a university partner, they shared how impressed they were with our selection process with regards to how we respectfully assess the socio-economic background of the applicant and holistic assessment to identify diamonds in the rough. The validating words of assurance from a trusted partner are extremely crucial as we move forward to double our BTAR scholarship fund annually as we recognise the economic effects of the pandemic which widen the existing gap for students to access higher education.

We are continuously looking for individuals, corporations and institutions who are passionate about empowering more aspiring leaders through the Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship. If you would like to support our mission and give the gift of a great future to empower rising nation builders, feel free to drop me a message.