Scholars’ Updates
Here are the 3 young people to whom we granted Sunway-Elena Cooke Education Fund scholarships to enable them to pursue their tertiary education in Sunway:
- Muhammad Zafran bin Abdul Hamid (ACCA)
- Ng Jia Min (BSc (Hons) in Financial Analysis)
- Nur Ilyna Sofea binti Imran (Diploma in Communication
Muhammad Zafran bin Abdul Hamid
Muhammad Zafran is the youngest child & only son of the family. He has 4 older sisters – the oldest and youngest of whom are unemployed. His 60-year old father – with only primary school education – works as a General Assistant for a company in Kuala Lumpur.
After his below-average PT3 exams, he was motivated and encouraged by his parents to put in more effort to improve. His hard work paid off: Zafran scored 9 As in his SPM and also completed matriculation with CGPA of 4.0. In his Personal Statement, he said:
“My passion in business and accounting started in 2019, when my uncle became a successful and ambitious business professional. From that moment onwards, I have had a strong passion for accounting, inspired by his journey from an ordinary person to a wealthy one, giving me hope to change my family’s future.”
Ng Jia Min
Jia Min comes from a small family – just her single mum and her. Relying solely on her mother’s income, they faced constant financial pressure over the years. Her mum lost her job for a few months during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jia Min even faced difficulties in paying school fees during the pandemic but thankfully, she had a kind and understanding class teacher who helped out with her school fees. However, her family’s financial situation has not been a barrier to Jia Min’s academic prowess, and she was often top of her class.
Jia Min says she has a strong interest in understanding and interpreting financial data, and aspires to learn accurate data analysis skills – hence her choice of study. She dreams of developing a financial awareness program in her community to educate others on managing personal finances wisely and helping as many people in need as possible to make a meaningful contribution to society.
Nur Ilyna Sofea binti Imran
Nur Ilyna’s father passed away when she was just 7 years old. Her mum raised Nur Ilyna and her 2 older brothers using her father’s EPF funds and monthly payments from SOCSO, in addition to the proceeds of sale of traditional Malay desserts that she made. Thankfully, one of her brothers was able to study and graduate as a doctor with the help of a scholarship. Her other brother was diagnosed as a slow learner, but has found employment as part of the F&B crew in a fast food restaurant.
In her Personal Statement, Nur Ilyna said that she has chosen to study Communication because, from having watched cartoons as a child to watching movies and dramas, she has always been interested to work behind the scenes and has ambitions of being a producer of shows one day.
We wish all our scholars all the best in their chosen courses of study and may all their dreams come true!
Here is a photo of our 3 ECEF scholars, when they signed their Scholarship Agreements in Sunway.