MCKL bids adieu to a cohort of more than 350 graduates at the DUMC Dream Centre Auditorium, in August 2022. The graduation and awards ceremony was held for seven programmes, namely, Diploma in Early Childhood Education, Diploma in Social Work, ACCA, ACCA Foundation in Accountancy, Cambridge A Level, Australian Matriculation students and the Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching & Learning enrolled in MCKL.
The event was graced by Dato’ Dr Tan Kee Kwong, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr. Lim Kah Cheng, Private Education Director of Methodist Council of Education (MCOE), Dr Gerard Boey, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Principal MCKL College (Penang, Pykett Campus) cum Academic Dean, followed by a guest speaker, Associate Professor Dr Low Siow Yong from University of Southampton Malaysia.
Angelica Louise Loo Swee Lin, a graduate from the Diploma in Early Childhood Education was Class of 2022’s Valedictorian. “Receiving this title was very humbling, never in a million years did I expect to be chosen as a Valedictorian,” said Angelica. “It is a pretty big shoes to fill, as I’ve admired the past valedictorians and all their achievements, at some point during my college life. Being chosen was an honour, a privilege that I wish to make the most out of.”
On top of graduands’ academic well-deserved certificate, the ceremony also recognised students’ accomplishments in other arenas while studying at MCKL. This year, Hillary Teoh Poh Kim Fullante received the Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng Award 2022, as the best performing student in the Diploma in Early Childhood Education; Elliot Tan Ming Wei bagged the Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Tan Chee Khoon Award 2022 for Diploma in Social Work and Nathaniel Inn Tsin Qian was awarded the Bishop Denis C Dutton Scholar 2022 (Outstanding Achiever Award) for best performance in his Cambridge A Level examination.
On top of graduands’ academic well-deserved certificate, the ceremony also recognised students’ accomplishments in other arenas while studying at MCKL. This year, Hillary Teoh Poh Kim Fullante received the Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng Award 2022, as the best performing student in the Diploma in Early Childhood Education;Elliot Tan Ming Wei bagged the Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Tan Chee Khoon Award 2022 for Diploma in Social Work and Nathaniel Inn Tsin Qian was awarded the Bishop Denis C Dutton Scholar 2022 (Outstanding Achiever Award) for best performance in his Cambridge A Level examination.
Hillary was the president of the Diploma in Early Childhood Education student union in 2020 to 2021, after impressing the former committee during her interview; as well as the vice-president of the Student Representative Council, all while managing her own diploma studies. Her effort paid off during graduation, where upon receiving the award, Hillary was initially in disbelief, however, when she managed to collect her thoughts, said, “At the moment of receiving the award, I felt as though I did something worthwhile and that I am a lot more capable than I’m led to believe. I think the award has become a tangible reminder that I can do a lot more than what my mind tells me.”
Wanting to expand his professional development at Malaysian CARE, Elliot Tan enrolled in the Diploma in Social Work which proved to be fruitful, upon receiving his recognition on graduation day. “I was happy to receive the Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Tan Chee Khoon Award 2022. It’s a reminder that my dedication and patience is seen and rewarded. As a part-time student also working full-time, I’m thankful that my employer provided me with ample time off to finish my assignments when needed. Nevertheless, learning to set boundaries with my time was necessary to finish well,” he said.
The final accolade, the Bishop Denis C Dutton Scholar 2022 (Outstanding Achiever Award) was granted to Nathaniel Inn, for his exceptional performance in the final Cambridge A Level examination. Throughout his studies at MCKL, Nathaniel was no stranger to being academically recognised with four other awards, on top of his own scholarship, the Excellence Award Scholarship, awarded to exemplary students. “I believe in concentrating on the journey rather than the end goal. After implementing this method to prepare for a few rounds of exams, I realized that it helped me to enjoy the learning process and kept me excited to learn. It also taught me to not be too discouraged with disappointing results in practice papers but to search for how I could improve. I had taken a different approach to this round of exams compared to the IGCSE examinations which were more result orientated and so, was quite relieved that it had turned out well.
In his closing speech, Dr Gerard Boey impressed upon the August 2022 graduates that obtaining good academic qualifications and achievements are not the only valuation of success. “Life’s successes are a broad concept and often goes beyond formal education,” he began. “During your time at MCKL, I hope you had several opportunities to experience our DNA in service learning and character formation. These are important qualities to possess, at the age that you are now, in a time of self-discovery, where it may be beneficial to notice other things in life that are equally important and help you identify your strengths and nurture them as a way forward.”
Dr Gerard’s parting words to the audience was his hope that graduates of MCKL will continue to learn unlearn and relearn in order to maintain their value in their professional and personal life, and also remain fulfilled in the career and life path they have chosen at any point in their lifetime.
