CHAN Ty, the winner of the early deadline portion of the 2011 International Alumni Recruitment Competition, is now very pleased to share his personal experiences in both studying and working and reveal his tactic of getting scholarship abroad in Lift.

Briefly, Chan Ty, 24 years old, was born in Kompong Speu province, but moved to Phnom Penh since 2005 to continue his study in grade 12 at Bak Touk high school. After graduation, Ty got a scholarship from RUPP to study mathematic. At the same time, he was granted a scholarship sponsored by Peace Scholarship Program from the Australian Centre for Education (ACE) for one year of study. Later on, he decided to quit his major in math because his interest in it was fading.  Instead, he applied for the English course at the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL), as he saw more potential in English for his future career plus he has a strong interest in it.

He was chosen as the winner of this year International Alumni Recruitment Competition because he was a very active alumni in sharing his experiences attending the Asia Institute for Political Economy (AIPE), which he attended on a scholarship that sent hin to Hong Kong for three weeks in 2009. Chan Ty was US$200 richer for winning the award, but according to his comments in the newsletter of The Fund for American Studies Alumni earlier this year,m it wasn’t about the prize. He just wanted to introduce his peers to the great programs and opportunities that can benefit them for their whole life.

Apart from this trip to Hong Kong, he has won other scholarships to attend many conferences such as conference to Europe in Belgium organized by European community, which focused on talking about poverty, education, and media, also attended the Youth Conference in Malaysia, joining discussions about crime prevention and social entrepreneurship. He also went to the Youth Festival put on by ASEAN+3 in Hanoi, where there was a celebration of the thousandth anniversary of Vietnam’s capital city, and displays of ASEAN countries’ culture.

If you are impressed, you aren’t alone. Chan Ty said it has been unbelievable for him to be on the world stage on so many occasions. He is visibly proud ofhis accomplichemnts, and he knows that it comes from his commitment and efforts in academics. “When I see classmates study hard, it motivates me to do the same. When I see people fly abroad, it makes me want too get an opportunity to do it too.”

His commitment to excellence doesn’t stop with diplomacy. Engaging in social activities as a volunteer is another criterion he excels in, and he said it enables him to build up networks and keeps him updated with the information about scholarship or other opportunities besides being more aware of the situation on the ground in the society he’s living in. Till now he has volunteered for many places such as Youth Council of Cambodia (YCC), Khmer Civilization Foundation (KCF), Habitat for Humanity and IDP Education programmes, just to mention just a few.  

He credits the support from his family who pushe him to study hard, as well as his friends and people surrounding him is for many of his achievments.

Kindness will be returned to us with future successes, he advises his fellow Cambodian youth.

CHan Tyu is currently working for the International Republican Institute (IRI) and enrolled as a senior at IFL. In the future he hopes to be an educational officer. “I want to be a lecturer or something because I want to improve the system of education in Cambodia, which could provide an equal opportunity to those who desire to study but cannot afford it, and make those who do not understand importance of studying to change their behavior.,” he said.