17 SCORE FIRST CLASS HONOURS
Help University achieves highest number ever of such awards from London varsity
SOO WERN JUN KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
SEVENTEEN students in the HELP Group attained first class honours under the University of London International Programme — the highest number on record, said HELP University Chancellor Datuk Paul Leong Khee Seong yesterday.
They are part of this year’s 1,325 graduates comprising 262 graduates with postgraduate degrees and 1,063 graduates with undergraduate degrees.
“Last year was significant because of the excellent results attained by students in the University of London International Programme.
“Three of the students attained the highest marks worldwide in specific papers, prompting the pro-vice-chancellor (international) of the university, Dr Mary Stiasny, to congratulate HELP on this achievement,” said Leong at the university’s 29th convocation ceremony held at the Shangri-La Hotel here yesterday.
The university’s president and Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Paul Chan said HELP had achieved a lot in the last 31 years.
“It was and is still our mission to actualise people’s dreams.
“We have dreams, and that is a dream to help others become successful and significant.
“The legacy that we would like to leave behind is your success.
“These successes define who we are,” Chan told the graduates.
This year, the university also saw nine President’s List Award recipients who were selected from various faculties, including the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Multimedia, Behavioural Sciences, Business, Economics and Accounting and Communication.
Wong Hui Man, 23, a first-class honours degree holder and one of the award recipients, said it was her goal to get on the list.
“When I started my first semester, I made up my mind to aim for the list. I studied six hours a day to keep my grades up. I knew that I had to work hard to graduate with first class honours,” said Wong, who is a Bachelor of Economics graduate.
Wong will start working as a management trainee with Great Eastern Life Malaysia in June, and has hopes to use her knowledge to help underdeveloped nations.
A graduate from the Department of Management Studies, Lakkshana Manogaran, 23, said she had always wanted to graduate with first class honours.
“I worked hard for it, and I know that I deserve the President’s List Award, too. Although there were challenges, I knew I had to press on and make sure I covered up for it the following semester.
“But even if I didn’t get a first class honours, it is still a degree.
“Now that I got into the President’s List, it feels good that I have made my parents proud,” said Lakkshana, who had secured a job as an associate auditor with KPMG Malaysia.