BY: Michelle Liew
A stellar achievement for Malaysia, as two young students have been accepted into Harvard College, the undergraduate college of Harvard University, a world renowned Ivy League university.
According to a statement issued by The Harvard Club of Malaysia uploaded by @lapetitemaligne on Twitter, the two students, Jarell Cheong Tze Wen, from Kuala Lumpur and Muhammad Hamdi Ahmad Hakimi, from Kuantan, Pahang will be enrolling in the undergraduate class of 2025.
This year saw the lowest enrolment rate in the college’s history since its establishment 385 years ago. Only 3.43 per cent of students were selected to be the ‘class of 2025’.
Of the 57,435 applications only 1,968 were selected. This Class of 2025 saw a dynamic and complex enrolment of which 52.9 per cent of the intake was female students and 14.5 percent of the students were from outside the United States.
Both the Malaysian students excelled in academics and co-curriculum at their respective venues and schools. Apart from his excellent academic results, Jarell has also represented Malaysia in dance, mathematics and chess. On the other hand, Hamdi is also a debater who also gives tuition to secondary school students. Hamdi is rather philosophical and has extensive general knowledge, often discussing his worldview and opinions on the present of affairs.
According to Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s Head of Research and alumni interviewer, Nick Khaw, Hamdi’s progress in life is an extraordinary story that he hopes can inspire others.
“He has had challenging life experiences, including having done some jobs to help his family and going to boarding schools to ease the burden on his family,” states Nick.
Jarell is a rare individual among students where he excels on a variety of platforms. He has represented Malaysia in the SEA Games Dancesport event and also competed under the Malaysian flag in the Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympics and international chess tournaments. Needless to say, his talents has no boundaries. He managed to balance his time and earned straight A’s in the Cambridge International Examinations.
Congratulations to Jarell and Hamdi!
