UTAR Alumni

JULY 2012

My 'CS' Life

Lai Jian Wei

Bachelor of Computer Science

August 2008 Convocation Class

In 2005, just like other STPM graduates, I was happily looking for an institution of higher learning to further my studies. Finally I made my decision to enroll in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, and major in Computer Science. I had great interest in this course as I understood it would provide the latest on computer technologies I could acquire. Throughout the entire orientation, I enjoyed those pleasant moments as I got to know friends from various parts of the country.

I started my first semester of university life with lots of anticipation. This was because everything just seemed to be new to me: new environment, new lecture hall, new library, new canteen, new sports complex and new hostel. In term of syllabus, many of my seniors told me that C Programming would be the most challenging subject. It required lots of logical thinking as well as practices in order to master it. During the first lesson of C programming, our lecturer taught us some basic concepts with simple handouts. Surprisingly, I found that it was not as difficult as I thought.

As weeks went by, I finally realized that C Programming really was not altogether that simple anymore. I could no longer rely on notes given to me, for this 'learning' method was suitable to secondary education only. Our lecturers would normally share their experience and knowledge to get us thinking what we had learned instead of providing us solutions to problems. I managed to complete all assignments given but my grades were low. Due to lack of practice in Programming, I just couldn't do any better in the test.

My academic poor performance still did not 'awaken' me! In fact I always thought that no matter how terribly I did for my test, I was still able to make it in my final exam. As far as I was concerned, my results for other subject were mostly above average. That caused me even less motivated to put in more effort in C Programming. I believed naively that one subject would not affect my overall results. At the same time, I tended to be passive during lectures and were always reluctant to seek for clarification when questions were raised. Worst of all, I even fell asleep in class when certain topics were boring.

Examinations finally arrived. I started burning midnight oil with the hope to master all subject I had studied within two study weeks prior examinations. I forced myself to memorise Programming Syntax and attempted to solve as many Programming Questions as possible. During the actual examinations, I was quite surprised that many questions seemed not difficult at all, but I couldn't answer properly. I could hardly remember the syntax that I had already memorised. As a result, I failed the C Programming paper. I felt so depressed and disappointed.

I spoke to my academic advisor about my results. She advised me to retake all subjects in the entire semester in order to improve my grades. At that moment, I couldn?t make a decision; that might have delayed my graduation. Fortunately, one of my coursemates advised me to get a second opinion from the Deputy Dean. The Deputy Dean asked me, 'Do you think you are able to cope up with your study next semester?' I answered 'YES.' 'If you do not promise to put in more efforts, I will not make recommendations for your application to continue next semester.' I assured him with sincerely that I would do my best.

From that day onwards, I started to pay more attention in lectures and frequently solved C Programming questions to enhance my programming skills. I was glad to see gradual improvement in my results but I knew that I must be persistent with my effort otherwise it would be meaningless. Thankfully, I was able to graduate with quite good results even though I started with poor performance.

Good results do not guarantee a successful life but it is the dedication that will drive us to achieve our goals. The desire of achieving one's target will determine the amount of effort one puts in. I may not be the best model student to every undergraduate, but I want to share with you that I have fought the battle through the bad days I have come across, therefore I believe everyone can do the same. Whenever you encounter any difficulty, never give up and you can definitely overcome it.