An epitome of lifelong learning, Puwanesh Periasamy never throws in the towel when it comes to education. Although university is traditionally seen as the next step after school, she is of the opinion that it is never too late to go into higher education.
Puwanesh Periasamy, who is currently pursuing the Diploma in Business Management at INTI International College Subang, believes that the key to improving oneself is to always be curious, have a desire to learn, and dedication.
Puwanesh, or Nesh as she is fondly known, took up her first job as a general clerk when she was 19 years old, a time when most of her peers were enrolling into university or college. Although financial constraints had put on hold her plans to further her studies then, the Diploma in Business Management student at INTI International College Subang was not going to let that be a reason forever.
“People my age would probably choose to ‘retire’ from education now, but age is not a barrier for me. Learning keeps me occupied and makes me feel like I am doing something worthwhile. It is interesting and challenging at the same time,” she said.
Having built a career from nothing, Nesh who is in her 40s, said she had achieved manager position in her 30s. She attributes this to her desire to continuously upgrade and improve herself.
“In 2003, I completed my Diploma in Law. I had no plans to pursue a career in law and it was not even relevant to my job at the time, but I studied law because it interested me. Maybe it was because I was young then!” she laughed.
To add to her list of educational experiences, the youngest of three siblings shared that she had also attempted to do A-Levels in the past and managed to obtain a certificate in secretarial studies.
It is from the secretarial course that she better understood about administrative work. After working with various companies, Nesh now considers herself an all-rounder who can carry out various tasks needed for administration.
“I used to work fulltime for a company that sells pharmaceutical products but the organisation was sold last year and I decided to move on to do freelance admin work for a new company that deals with cosmetics. So now I manage their day-to-day administration matters such as HR, payroll, accounts, purchasing, and store management,” she said.
According to Nesh, one of the reasons she chose to do her diploma at INTI was because it is relevant to her career and it also allows her to pursue her master’s degree upon completing the programme.
“The Diploma in Business Management is super convenient for working adults like me as our classes are on Saturdays. I feel that the syllabus is very relevant to my job, and I find myself saying ‘hey, I studied this in class’. It is especially helpful now that I am helping to do admin work for a new company. I wish I had enrolled earlier,” she said.
When asked what she would advise those who also have no choice but to put off their studies after SPM due to financial constraints, Nesh said she would tell them to grab a job.
“If you can get a decent job, don’t be choosy. When you earn money, you can take advantage of part-time programmes to further your studies. That was what I did. When I had money, I enrolled in a secretarial course which led me to my career now.
“The only way to help yourself is to upgrade and learn new things. Do not settle. Learn and explore on the job. I do not sit and just do what is given to me. If someone gave me typist work, I would do more than that. I never did accounts before, only bookkeeping, but because I was willing to learn I could help the company when they did not have a person to manage their accounts,” she said, adding that she was blessed to have superiors who were always happy to share their knowledge.
The key to improving oneself, she said, was to always be curious, have a desire to learn, and dedication.
“I remember this retired man in my class when I was doing my Diploma in Law. He would attend class, but he did not sit for the exams. I guess he just wanted to learn while occupying his free time,” recounted Nesh.
Nesh, who plans to pursue her master’s degree at INTI after finishing her diploma, said her educational journey was not just about obtaining a paper qualification. It was also for her self-satisfaction.
She added that her parents had always wanted to see her succeed, and although both are no longer around, she knows they would be proud that despite life’s hurdles, she continues to make an effort to find her way back to learning.