Main image via Malay Mail + Forbes
As Malaysians, we’ve had a lot to be proud of lately with Penang recently ranked third best island in the world to retire, Lee Zii Jia’s accomplishments at the All-England Championship and more!
We now have more reasons to be proud with two Malaysian students’ achievement in beating out over 50,000 applicants for a spot at Harvard University!
via GIPHY
Jarell Cheong Tze Wen from Kuala Lumpur and Muhammad Hamdi Ahmad Hakimi from Kuantan accomplished an extraordinary feat when they became one of the 1968 students accepted in Harvard’s undergraduate class of 2025.
A press release by the Harvard Club of Malaysia shared that this year, Harvard College marked its lowest admission rate in its 385-year history with only 1968 students accepted out of the 57,435 applicants.
Image via Malay Mail
Both Jarell and Muhammad Hamdi completed their secondary school education and A-levels and they plan to continue their studies at the prestigious institution in the field of Mathematics and Economics respectively.
Harvard alumni interviewer, TMC Life Sciences Berhad group chief executive officer and Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara CEO Wan Nadiah shared that Jarell has previously represented Malaysia in dance, Mathematics and chess while Muhammad Hamdi is a keen philosophical debater who tutors secondary school students as well.
“The KL-born represented Malaysia in the SEA Games Dancesport events and also competed under the Malaysian flag in the Asian Pacific Mathematical Olympiad and international chess tournaments,” the CEO said.
“What’s interesting about him is that he has found a way to continue his passions despite the Covid-19 restrictions,” she added.
“He also started teaching dance classes to youths aged seven to 14 over Zoom in the past year and pursued his interest in Mathematics independently, exploring beyond the A-levels curriculum to explore proof-based math.”
Image via Bernama
Khazanah Nasional Berhad research head and alumni interviewer Nick Khaw shared more about Muhammad Hamdi and said that his story is an inspiring one as well as he faced many challenges including working several jobs to make ends meet.
“Hamdi’s story is an extraordinary one that we hope will inspire others,” he said. His challenging life experiences, including working several jobs to help his family make ends meet and attending boarding school to lessen the burden on his family, led him to observe and think deeply about the world around him, and read voraciously from Noam Chomsky to Zaaba,” the interviewer said.
“He also channeled his energy into several areas including learning to speak English by participating in debate competitions at the age of 14 and devoting his time and efforts to mentor students in rural schools and teaching debates.”
Image via Harvard Club of Malaysia
Congratulations Jarell and Hamdi for getting accepted into Harvard!
We know your story will inspire many other Malaysians to reach their dreams!
Info via Malay Mail