JONATHAN PHAN (ECEF 2016)

Update from Jonathan Phan – ECEF 2016

Jonathan Phan was a student to whom ECEF gave a scholarship in 2016 to help him pursue his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (English for Professionals) degree at USM in Penang. He did us proud by graduating with First Class Honours in 2019. He went on to do his Master’s in USM.

Here is his 2019 graduation photo – with his aunt whom he described as “the only true mother” he has and who had been supporting him.

He has emailed ECEF to say:
“Hi there! I just wanted to let the board know that I’ve finally achieved my long-term ambition of becoming an English language educator.

Whilst wrapping up my Master’s degree, I attended an interview for the one-off teacher intake under Ministry of Education Malaysia, and I got the job!

I was posted to a national secondary school in Kulai, Johor, and have since relocated to my new place. I’ve attached a photo of myself on my first day of reporting for duty.

Once again, thank you ECEF for supporting my education and dream. I’ve made it!”

NATASHA GOMES(ECEF 2019)

Natasha Gomes has successfully completed ACCA

Heartiest Congratulations to Natasha Merissa Gomes, our Elena Cooke Education Fund scholar in Sunway, for successfully completing her ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) course in December 2021. It is noteworthy that she passed all her exams in 2.5 years, without needing to re-sit any paper, something that not many students are able to do.

In addition, in September 2021, Natasha was accorded a degree in Applied Accounting by the Oxford Brookes University in the UK. This was made possible by an arrangement between ACCA and the University where all ACCA students who have completed the ACCA fundamental level are eligible to receive such a degree by submitting a research paper with a learning statement and presentation slides. Natasha again excelled – she scored First Class Honours!

In a recent email, Natasha said:
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Elena Cooke Education Fund foundation for the financial assistance. Being able to focus on my studies and not carry the financial burden is a blessing. So, sincerely, thank you. Please send my regards to everyone.”

Natasha has just commenced work with one of the Big 4 accounting firms in KL. We wish her all the best in her career.

GLENNA TAN JIE YEE (ECEF 2017)

Glenna graduates with First Class Honours!

We are delighted and very proud to announce that our Elena Cooke Education Fund scholar, Glenna Tan, has graduated with First Class honours in Forensic Science from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). She has just started her Master’s program in Forensic Science with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). At the same time, she works as a part-time translation coordinator with Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur, to help finance her Master’s studies. It is noteworthy that Glenna was a student at Sri Bintang Utara and therefore in that sense is also a BBGS old girl.

Attached are photos of Glenna with her father and friends at her convocation held recently.

Glenna has sent her note of Thanks to ECEF:
“Life might be a little difficult coming from a single parent family, but I am very grateful for the opportunity and assistance provided by ECEF, which greatly alleviated my financial burden while pursuing my bachelor’s degree in UKM. Thanks a million to ECEF and I will also continue the spirit by contributing back to society and helping needy people whenever I have the ability to do so. Please also feel free to let me know if there is anything that I could help with ECEF in the future. I will try my best to help my dear alma mater and also in assisting students with similar background who needs help like mine.”

CHING ZHEN YI

Ching Zhen Yi appreciates ECEF and SUNWAY

ECEF scholar Ching Zhen Yi has just completed his Diploma in IT at Sunway with the help of a scholarship from Sunway and ECEF. Reproduced is a recent email from him, with 2 photos – one with his coursemates and lecturers and the other with his family (Zhen Yi is on the extreme left in front).

I would like to hereby voice out my appreciation for the help both mentally and financially throughout my diploma course. Without Elena Cooke Education Fund (ECEF), I believe that I would never be able to join Sunway College and might not even be graduating this soon. It might not seem significant to someone who has a wealthy family, but to me, it meant a lot more than just a scholarship. It was more of an acknowledgment to myself for being able to gain this scholarship and definitely a strong motivation for me towards my future career goal.

In pursuit of the diploma course, I am more determined to be in the cybersecurity industry. This is all thanks to those amazing lecturers in Sunway College, which always sees its students as their own children, hoping that we will one day be able to fulfil our goals. Their dedication is exceptional, and I am very grateful that I got this opportunity to learn so much from them. With all the basic knowledge gained from this course, it will surely bring a beneficial impact on my way to my dream job. Through the internship program that the course offers, I was able to have an in-depth overview of how the industry works and the qualities that are needed for those positions. Which will further contribute to my resume in the future.

As for my future goal, it is just as we have discussed in the first interview, I will be taking a cybersecurity related degree course. I will be applying for a scholarship right after I get my result and hope that I can get a full scholarship with it. My first university choice will be Sunway University as it is one of the best or top universities in Malaysia for this course. On the other hand, if I cannot get a scholarship with my result, I will put my study on hold and look for a job so I can save up enough money for the rest of the fee. Preferably, I would not put my parents in a worse financial burden as degree fees are way more expensive than diploma fees.

GLENNA TAN

Updated on 23 July 2021

Glenna has just completed her degree course in Forensic Science at UKM – she sat for her last exam in February 2021 after which she did her 3-month internship at Polis DiRaja Malaysia Bukit Aman, Bahagian Siasatan Jenayah.

She has told us that her time was spent at the Forensic DNA Databank (D13) Division – one of the 14 divisions in the Criminal Investigation Department. It collects reference samples to be stored in the Forensic DNA Databank Malaysia (also known as FDDM).

“The establishment of FDDM in 2012 has helped to solve crime, including cold cases, identifying unknown human remains and missing persons through collecting reference samples from their next-of-kin. D13 also helps in the operation of Disaster Victim Identification such as that during the MH17 flight crash, Wang Kelian mass grave etc. I have learnt a lot during my 3-month internship with D13 and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to conduct hands-on for the processes such as collecting, processing samples, assisting in analysing and uploading the profiles. It was a fruitful experience and I had a better picture of how the whole D13 division operates and plays a significant role in contributing towards the country through the strength of Malaysia’s DNA Database. The officers here in D13 are very friendly, experienced and knowledgeable and I sincerely appreciate that they are willing to share their valuable insights with me during my internship here. Last but not least, I am really grateful to God for having such a wonderful internship journey here at D13 Division, Bukit Aman.”

Glenna has applied to serve full-time in PDRM after graduation but does not expect to be enrolled immediately. While waiting, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree and is looking for a scholarship. We wish her all the best!

TANG PUI TENG

Updated on 1 December 2020

Pui Teng has just completed her second year at the Universiti Malaysia Pahang, pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Industrial Biotechnology. She lives with her single mother and older brother and sister in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. She sent us her second year final exam results – all As. Aside from the usual Chemistry and Biology subjects, she has even taken a paper in “Spanish for Intermediate” – for which she scored an A as well.

Here is a photo of Pui Teng with her coursemates during a site visit to an Indah Water wastewater treatment plant near Kuantan.

CHONG WEI KUAN

Updated on 2 November 2020

With the help of a scholarship from the Elena Cooke Education Fund, given to her in 2016, Chong Wei Kuan has graduated with a Bachelor of Management (with Honours) degree from the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Having secured a job as an Assistant Executive Secretary with an organisation in Selangor, she told us she is grateful to be employed, bearing in mind the current tough job market. Wei Kuan sent us this video to say “Thank You” to ECEF for supporting her over the 4 years of her course.

Video Link

LEE YUEN YEE

Updated on 16 September 2020

Elena Cooke Education Fund scholar, Lee Yuen Yee, has just completed his 3rd year of his 4-year degree course in Industrial Design at the Universiti Putra Malaysia. The course required him to undergo 6 months of internship, which he did at a corporate electronic tech gifts company in KL. He was designated as a junior creative designer there, helping the company in solving design-related problems.

Here is a photo of Yuen Yee (in the middle) with his course supervisor and the company manager.

Yuen Yee has been recording excellent results every semester and internship was no exception – he scored a Grade Point Average of 4.0 (the maximum marks)!

LIM PHANG Zhen

Updated on 11 February 2020

Lim Phang Zhen is studying for a Diploma in Information & Communications Technology at Asia Pacific University. So far, his GPA in his 2 semesters are 3.68 and 4.0. Very commendable indeed.

TAN YU YING

Updated on 11 February 2020

Yu Ying, from Yong Peng, Johore, started her Process & Food Engineering course in Universiti Putra Malaysia in September 2019. In her first semester exams, she scored a GPA of 3.91.

NATASHA MERISSA GOMEZ

Updated on 9 January 2020

Natasha, one of our ECEF scholars, started her ACCA course in Sunway in September 2019. Besides attending lectures and tutorials, she has found time to participate in campus activities. She has been selected as a committee member in the Sunway Accounting Club, becoming the Head of the Committee Welfare department, besides being a member of the organising committee for the Certified Accounting Technician/Certificate in Finance, Accounting & Business Graduation.

Here is a photo of Natasha with her peers when they attended a “SAC 2020 Workshop” (they had to attend a workshop as part of the selection process to be on the committee of the Club). She is in the centre of the front row.