Our Proud Alumni

I pursued the career I am in today because I believed in my skills and that the knowledge learned through my studies are valuable to not only myself, but to others, too. I highly recommend that INTI provides more opportunities for students to try out different activities that could benefit others, so that their true talents can be unleashed in the field that they are passionate in.

As a very social person, I enjoy talking to people and my job provides me with the opportunity to give purpose and socialize. I see failure as part of the journey to success, so I’ve learned to embrace failures with an open-mind.

I believe a true leader is visionary, purpose-driven and persistent. They are never afraid of failures, or making mistakes because they know it’s part of the growing process. My advice to anyone who’d listen is to never be selfish with your skills or knowledge. True success in oneself is when we have achieved these three keys things: knowing our purpose, maximizing our potential, and benefiting others.

I also chose INTI because the Diploma in Business Management programme meant that I could get a headstart with a Diploma, and graduate before my peers who pursued other programs that were similar. The learning structure was flexible and enabled me to study even with a busy schedule. Blended learning was one of the plus points of the program, too.

There were times when I was down and did not think I could complete my diploma due to work commitments. But I accepted the challenge and tried my best to allocate time to study and continue my studies. I believe my way of overcoming adversity was the brutally honest and support I got from family, friends and fellow course mates.

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is an inspiration to me. His determination to be productive at age 93 has shown me that you can achieve a lot in life if you persevere. I believe that time management is very important. When you plan for what you need to do for your future, your mindset should not change. Most of the working environments are managed in the same style. We need to learn how to adapt in our organizations and also to learn from the work. Knowledge is endless. There is no limit to when or where you’ll stop learning. Always upgrade yourself with new knowledge to stay current and to be able to fulfill the organizations needs.

Lastly, the three traits I think all successful leaders must have is accountability, responsibility and the ability to manage complexity.

Apart from the structured syllabus, there were summer courses and soft skill classes conducted to build skills that can’t be learned from a book, which I absolutely loved. Acing your exam is not everything because in the current working world, hard skills aren’t the only key to success, and I would say INTI prepped me exhaustively. I grew from a shy girl to a confident, driven woman.

Months before my graduation, I learned about possible employers through Career Fairs and talks organized by INTI. These events helped me understand possible employers from audit firms and multinational companies, as well as the potential jobs available for me. I was able to compare employers and the working experience I could gain through these platforms. With that, I was able to make a wise decision, and was hired by my current employer (Dell) before graduating. Frankly speaking, I would not have such opportunity if not for the support and guidance provided by INTI lecturers.

Every day at my new job is an adventure. Working in Dell has brought me to many countries (even outside of Asia). It has made it possible for me to work with people from diverse backgrounds, and also help NGOs using my professional skills. I have achieved more than I thought I would in three years. There were many times where I thought I would fail, but I believe that if you don’t fail, you won’t learn or grow. To me, I believe that to be successful, you have to be open to change and adapt to them as soon as possible. You need to be agile, because the world is ever-evolving, and to coach because it’s important to help people get to where they envision themselves to be. By coaching them, you get to be part of their growth and success. You must also accept the possibility of failure, but at the same time, stay positive, think good thoughts, and do your best.

The seniors that I’ve seen go into commercial fields instead of the auditing fields had the tendency of having a slower learning curve. So I decided to go into auditing field to make it my stepping stone, and brush up on my technical knowledge as well as experience in accounting.

My Mother, Teoh Bak Liang, inspired me to pursue my studies and my career in Accounting. She was an accounting clerk in a small company for years and her ability in managing our family’s finance inspired me to enter this field. She taught me to be a hardworking person, to always have a strong will, to never give up, and to never stop learning in life. Thus, I decided to pursue ICAEW instead of just stopping at Degree level.

To me, a successful leader is always open to learning, has the ability to make a team work creatively and positively, and get them to communicate effectively. My advice to students would be to learn and explore new things as much as possible while you’re still new to the working world. Everyone takes time to choose the right career path so you’re always allowed to change courses if you find that a particular pathway isn’t for you. Don’t give up easily on life, and take every failure you have or haven’t faced as an opportunity to create a better you. Always speak to your family, mentors and peers. This will help you to enlighten your mind, and you might get important advice you may not have thought of otherwise.

In pursuing this career, I reviewed my strengths, and thought about what I could do better than other graduates. Today, my career requires language skills, and also the knowledge I gained from the course I graduated from Business Administration-UH.

I love generating new visitors and clients through reputable sources and the opportunity to work with dynamic leaders. For me, the phrase ‘fail’ means failing to achieve my targets. What I do to overcome that feeling is to think about what gives me courage to do what I do in the first place. It could be family, or my own future. Thinking about family comforts me, while thinking about my future pushes me to do well.

I believe a good leader possesses good communication skills, selfdiscipline, and flexibility. My best advice for students would be to try grabbing opportunities that could give them the chance to learn something new and practical, as experience carries weight in the working world.