UTAR welcomed a total of 18 UTARambassadors in 2023 during the 2023 UTARambassadors Leadership Programme (UALP) Appreciation and Appointment Ceremony. The yearly ceremony was organised by UTAR Division of Programme Promotion (DPP) on 1 February 2023 at UTAR Heritage Hall Building.

The purpose of the ceremony was to welcome a new batch of UTARambassadors in 2023 as well as celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of 2022 UTARambassadors. It also served as a channel for former UTARambassadors to show their support and encouragement to their newly-appointed juniors.

Initiated in 2013, UALP is a leadership opportunity for passionate UTAR students who love to meet people and share their university experience with external audiences such as prospective students, parents, teachers and university visitors. It offers a host of opportunities to gain important skills such as leadership, teamwork, event management and communication skills.

UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat graced the third UALP Appreciation and Appointment Ceremony to give his words of appreciation and encouragement to the UTARambassadors. He said, “Congratulations to all the 2022 UTARambassadors for completing UALP with your best. I heartily welcome the 2023 UTARambassadors on the board. We look forward to your collective effort in contributing to the university’s goals and take this great opportunity to unleash your creativity by sharing your university life experiences with all of us.”

UTARambassadors have the responsibility to socialise with varieties of people. As encouragement, Prof Dato’ Ewe shared that he was once a shy young man like many people. However, with passion and determination to build up his confidence level and knowledge, he surpassed his old self by slowly socialising with people he was not familiar with. “Small steps like asking questions are important in building confidence. They may be considered small or extra, but if you never try to improve, how would you know that you will not be successful?” shared Prof Dato’ Ewe to UTARambassadors.

He also seized the opportunity to share some essential skills for being a successful leader, including critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity. “With a good attitude and willingness to learn, I believe anyone can be potentially trained to become successful individuals,” enthused Prof Dato’ Ewe.

The top three performers of 2022 UTARambassadors conveyed their gratitude and shared their experiences as UTARambassadors with others. The three top performers were Bachelor of Science (Honours) Logistics and International Shipping student Ooi Hui Tian, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Graphic Design and Multimedia student Kavvinia Ganasan and Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) Psychology student Kan Vivian.

Ooi said, “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to UTAR for selecting me as one of the UTARambassadors and guiding me to become one of the top performers of 2022. I am also grateful to all the UTARambassadors who have been so helpful throughout the year, as well as to my family who has always been my rock. All the tremendous support has made this journey an enjoyable and fulfilling one.”

“To the 2023 UTARambassadors, your journeys have just started. Trust yourself that you can do it and get it,” shared Ooi before stepping down as 2022 UTARambassador.

Kavvinia expressed her gratitude to her fellow ambassadors and mentors, saying, “I would like to extend my thanks to my fellow ambassadors and mentors. Working alongside you has been a pleasure. I have learned so much from each and every one of you. Your dedication, enthusiasm and passion have been an inspiration to me. For that, I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of such a talented and dynamic team.”

She added, “I am truly grateful for the friendships and connections that I have made throughout this programme. I look forward to continue serving the University and community in the future.”

Kan Vivian was proud and delighted to be a UTARambassador. In her recorded speech, she enthused, “I consider myself extremely fortunate to have begun the path as a UTARambassador, as it had taught me so much about life. There may have been many ups and downs, but I was able to make many memories with other UTARambassadors. Through this programme, I learned the value of working as a team to overcome barriers and challenges. We may have been exhausted after duties, but I believe we enjoyed every moment of it.”

She added, “Though I have completed my service, I am always willing to serve again if I am needed. I am excited to meet the upcoming UTARambassadors. It is your time to shine, but don’t forget to have fun along the way.”

The 2021 UTARambassador Hang Zhong Yu also gave his words of inspiration and encouragement to the new UTARambassadors. He said, “My life before the age of 20 was not smooth. I was a person who lacked confidence. I did not have close friends to talk to; I had conflicts with friends and my family; my academic results were terrible; and I barely even qualified for my degree programme at UTAR. Due to that, I did not have much faith in myself. Nevertheless, I thought to myself that I must be a better version of myself. Hence, I decided to try different things. I engaged in different leadership roles in various fields and met many people who inspired me to be a better person. Eventually, I found myself changing and gaining self-awareness. I learned to value myself and be self-confident. I recognised that failures are not terrible, instead, they serve as stepping stones to excel oneself.”

“I believe the point is to develop your own self-awareness, find your strengths, and know your weaknesses. Focus on your strengths and improve your weaknesses. UALP is one of the programmes that gave me the opportunity to meet like-minded people and learn from one another. Therefore, I sincerely thank all the UTARambassadors and my mentors for supporting me through my ups and downs,” shared Hang.

Other former UTARambassadors also gave their best wishes to the new UTARambassadors through recorded speeches.

Before concluding the ceremony, Prof Dato’ Ewe presented certificates of completion to the 2022 UTARambassadors as well as tokens of appreciation to the 2023 UTARambassadors.

Also present at the ceremony were UTAR Registrar Loh Siaw Yien, DPP Director Lee Choy Fong, DPP Deputy Director for International Student Recruitment and Business Development Irene Wong Hong Lei, Head of Department of Student Affairs (Kampar Campus) Chiang Jeng Fong, Head of Department of International Student Services (Kampar Campus) Ngan Mun Wai, DPP Assistant Manager Ng Jean Ling, and other UTARambassadors.

As the UTARambassadors of the previous session stepped down from their duties, they left behind their marks of endeavour, passing the baton of leadership to their fellow juniors for them to strive for their own unique paths to leadership. With that, the yearly ceremony concluded.