“Always be confident in achieving your goals,” says Mabel Cheong Curtin Sarawak Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication) Graduate

MIRI, 13 June 2006 – Mabel Cheong Foong Teng, from Sabah constitutes the first batch of Curtin Sarawak students to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, at the 5th Graduation Ceremony held on 11 May 2006.

Mabel is already working full-time in her hometown of Kota Kinabalu as a Sales Executive, a position in which she is able to apply the communication skills she has acquired while studying at Curtin Sarawak.

An outstanding student during her four years at Curtin Sarawak, Mabel’s excellent academic achievements and significant efforts were recognised by the University when she received the “Foundation Media Studies Best Student” Award in 2002 and made it to the Dean’s List of top students in 2005.

Sharing her winning formula for success, Mabel says, “I live by the motto, Always be confident in achieving our goals!”.

As to why she chose to enrol in the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication programme at Curtin Sarawak, she explains, “ I was curious about the media’s powerful role in influencing public opinion. And, in relation to movies, I was very interested in how individual images and pieces of films could be put together and crafted to tell a story. I had the opportunity to do exactly that when I was doing a number of video production units as part of the “Film & Television” stream in the Mass Communication programme. I learnt the process – from pre-production to post-production – of making various types of programmes such as corporate videos, documentaries, music videos and commercials. And working on all these projects also gave me the opportunity to actually meet people from all walks of life, from drag queens to corporate executives.”

Mabel admitted that while studying at Curtin Sarawak, she experienced major positive changes in her life.  She said, “I acquired good organisational and planning skills while studying Mass Communication, and have now become more mature in making decisions – all of which are extremely beneficial to my present working life. I really enjoyed the programme of study I selected and would advise fellow students who are in doubt about their future undertakings to be clear about what they want to achieve in life”.

Mabel remembers some the challenges faced while studying at Curtin Sarawak. As she explains, “Among the challenges encountered, the most dreaded were assignment deadlines, and the lecturers were very serious about these; worst of all is when all assignments have the same deadline. At times, external researches had to be carried out for certain projects since some of the required information was not available internally. When it comes to practical assignments, especially video production-related projects, I would certainly advise current Mass Communication students to always think outside the box especially when it comes to developing and writing scripts for the screen. Familiarising oneself with some of the video production equipment such as cameras, lights, lenses and so on is a must.”

For Mabel, teamwork played an important part in getting the practical video production assignments done right, as many things had to be completed within a short period of time. “Video production involves many tasks, such as story-boarding, location scouting, test-screening of actors and so on. At times, my team and I would be burning the midnight oil in preparing all the assignments and presentations for the next day. The hours were never fixed: I could be starting as early as 6pm and finish at around 3am when trying to complete an assignment on time,” she elaborated.

However, these issues did not stop Mabel from enjoying life as a Uni student. “My years at Curtin Sarawak were just so wonderful and I must say that I now feel so confident from the communication skills acquired while studying: they really help me now when meeting and working with people daily, regardless of who they are.”

I am proud and happy to have selected Curtin Sarawak for my tertiary education, especially now that I am fully confident in facing the challenges ahead,” Mabel concluded with a beaming smile.

Earlier on 11 May 2006, a total of 230 students graduated at Curtin Sarawak’s 5th graduation ceremony which was graced by YB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture & Minister of Industrial Development, and Chairman of the Curtin Sarawak Council.

Also present at the 5th Graduation ceremony were YB Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, Minister of Plantation Industries & Commodities Malaysia, YB Dr Lee Kim Shin, Sarawak Assistant Minister of Infrastructure & Communication, and Chairman of the Management Board for Curtin Sarawak Malaysia, and YBhg Datu Dr Hatta bin Solhi, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Curtin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Curtin University of Technology Australia Vice-Chancellor Professor Jeanette Hacket and Pro Vice-Chancellor International Professor Kevin McKenna also attended Curtin Sarawak’s 5th Graduation Ceremony.

Professor John Evans, Curtin Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor & CEO, and Professor Ruth Marquis, Dean of Curtin Sarawak, as well as senior officials from the Sarawak Government, professors and academics from other institutions of higher learning were also in attendance.

Curtin Sarawak’s Department of Mass Communication academic staff were all present to witness the graduation of their first batch of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication students, namely, Mr Rama Venkatasawmy (Head of Department), Dr Thomas Jayaprakash (Senior Lecturer), En Mawi Taip (Lecturer) and Mr Ramzy Baroud (Lecturer).

The Bachelor of Arts in Mass Commuication programme was introduced in 2003 at Curtin Sarawak and includes Film & Television, Marketing and Public Relations as areas of specialisation to choose from. More information on the Bachelor of Arts programme is available at http://s44937.p1679.sites.pressdns.com/sch_dept/MassComm/BA_MassComm.htm.

Curtin Sarawak’s next student intake will be in July 2006 and recruitment sessions are currently in progress throughout the region.  For further enquiries, kindly call the Student Recruitment Hotline at 085-443 893. Application for admission to Curtin Sarawak’s degree programmes can also be made online at www.curtin.edu.my/prospective/index.htm.

Mabel on her graduation day; Mabel(left) & her friend Jiao Zhe from China