Poo Lea Fong Bachelor of Arts (HONS) Chinese Studies Class of August 2010   As far as I can remember, I was always interested and mesmerized with Chinese history whenever I watched it on TV or read it in books at a young age. Chinese language was my favorite subject but soon, even books were unable to fill my curiosity. After getting my STPM result, I made a huge decision in my life; I enrolled for Chinese Studies in UTAR and there is no turning back. I am thankful I have my English educated parents' blessing in deciding the voyage through a passage that is less taken. Three years of studying in UTAR is truly an eye-opener for me, both mentally and academically. People frequently showed puzzled faces and even relatives questioned me over the course I am pursuing. Naive minds tend to label me as the 'black sheep' for choosing this path as they often belittle the course I am studying and doubt whether I would be able to make ends meet after graduating. Nevertheless, I see it from a different angle because I always regard Chinese language as an ocean of knowledge which is distributed into different continents; waiting for us to explore and understand the essence hidden beneath. Chinese language has a great history dated back to 5000 years ago and it's considered one of the toughest languages to master. Moreover, the value of the language has increased tremendously with the emergence of China as the world's fastest-growing major economy. Due to this development, a Chinese Studies degree not only provides the means to build a career but also furnishes us with the philosophy of life, such as Taoism and Confucianism. UTAR is one of the few tertiary institutes that offer Chinese studies program. I have classes at its Petaling Jaya campus which is located in an industrial area. The library is not as equipped as I expected and we frequently encounter difficulty in finding reference books for assignments. However, I appreciate this unique experience and never treat it as a hindrance to submit my assignments on time. Furthermore, there are always reliable online resources accessible through our library webpage

Poo Lea Fong My lecturers are approachable, and always give me useful guidelines when I encounter difficulties in my assignment or studies. Their constructive criticism is to train us to be independent and not being spoon-fed like we used to be. Being taught by the cream-of-the-crop is really a worthy experience. Besides, my peers are competitive in studies and it's not easy studying in such an environment. In the first few semesters, I often felt inferior and intimidated. But soon I realize life is full of challenges and it?s up to me to figure out the solutions to overcome all obstacles with maturity. Though being knowledgeable in our own field, the downside of being a Chinese Studies student is that we are often made inferior to possessing weak English proficiency so much so that some students conducted survey just to test our English command. Although this may be true to certain extent, I personally think this is rather a stereotype and it's unfair to generalize that to Chinese Studies students only. To prove that, my parents encourage me to study at British Council to ensure my English command is on par with the rest. All in all,I would like to thank UTAR for molding me into who I am today. Million thanks to my lecturers for their guidance and my peers who make my life in UTAR different. Thanks to my parents for their unconditional love and support during my ups and downs. Although I am not one of the top scorers in my batch, I am proud to be fully Chinese educated. Chinese language is our legacy and it's our responsibility to preserve this valuable heritage for our future generation.