WOU undergraduate Michelle Christine Arul won consolation prize at the recent GST Article Writing Competition open to Malaysian students from public and private institutions of higher learning in the country.
For her praiseworthy article on “Why Malaysia needs GST?”, she received RM400 and a certificate from Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching, during the prize-giving ceremony held in Putrajaya today in conjunction with Higher Education Week Malaysia 2015.
Michelle, 25, from Rawang, Selangor, is currently in the 5th semester of her Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Management programme at WOU. She credits her parents for encouraging her to participate in the competition. Taking confidence from their support, she did the research needed and submitted her entry although she was swamped with revision as the closing date (May 21) was near her final examination period.
The competition was organised by the Ministry of Higher Education together with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Ministry of Finance and the National Council of Professors, Prime Minister’s Department.
No doubt disheartened not to have grabbed any of the top three prizes, she is nevertheless “happy to have made it this far and to be counted among the best” of all the Malaysian undergraduate students who participated. She had gathered information on GST from the Internet, newspaper articles and journals.
She owes her fluency in writing to often communicating with family, friends and colleagues using the English Language. “I also enjoy reading English books and movies,” she declared.
Michelle, who enrolled through WOU’s Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre in the July 2013 intake, obtained her Foundation in Science from a private university. She presently holds a clerical job at The Star Media Group Bhd.
“I chose WOU because of the flexible mode of learning and the easy access to materials and resources. With WOU, I am able to get a degree while I work,” she stated.
“I wanted to pursue Management as it will offer me a wider variety of job options. I believe this degree is the key to a rewarding future for me, especially in finance or economics,” said Michelle, the eldest of three kids, whose father works as Deputy Manager in Public Bank Bhd. She aspires to climb up the corporate ladder in management, aiming to first complete her Bachelor’s and later her Master’s degree
