A young Malaysian has done the country proud again!
Yugendran Rajaendran, got accepted into the prestigious California-based Stanford University’s Class of 2024. Needles to say, the fresh graduate from Epsom College (ECM), pursued his A-levels after obtaining a Tune Libra scholarship from ECM Libra Foundation.
He is finally getting to live his childhood dream by earning himself a spot at one of the top universities in the world. The 20-year-old plans to pursue a double degree in Bioengineering and Mathematical and Computational Science.
His interest for learning since a very young age moulded Yugendran into somewhat of a “star student” due to his eagerness to learn which ultimately helped him do well in school, achieving 11 A+ in his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
“It’s pretty exciting. Since I was a kid, I’ve always wondered what is so special about these top global universities,” said Yugendran in an interview with the Malay Mail.
“Later on I realised that it was about the chance to surround myself with brilliant minds, the facilities and community in these universities. They can push me to greater heights.”
He applied to 15 different top global universities and got accepted into 10 of those universities, which included the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), New York University (NYU), Columbia University, Yale University, Carnegie Melon University and King’s College London.
He said that he chose to join Stanford instead of all the other prestigious institutions because of the university’s state of the art bioengineering facilities which could aid him in his efforts to become a medical scientist.
“During my A-levels, I got interested in bioengineering because it is related to cancer and stem cell research. I find it really fascinating,” said Yugendran.
“Cancer is one of those diseases that we haven’t found a cure yet and stem cell research shows promising results. I researched more about it and realised that this was one of the ways that I could contribute to the scientific community.”
He added that he also picked to major in Mathematical and Computational Science (Data Science) as he hopes to one day work with the Malaysian health ministry in local healthcare policymaking.
The Klang native didn’t get accepted into Stanford by luck though, as his unique learning habit shaped him into the bright young student he now is.
“My study philosophy is to always study for the purpose of learning. I never really focused on studying only for exams,” he said.
“I’ve always liked math. My father used to buy me math exercise books and I’d finish it in a day. That’s when I knew that I have an aptitude for learning. I find it intellectually stimulating.
“I make sure that I understand what I’m learning and I cover everything in the syllabus or textbooks. I learn everything so I feel satisfied. Hence, the goal of learning to perfection helped me to achieve really good grades in exams.”
Yugendran expects to fly off and join the world-renowned Stanford community in late August or early September this year, with his semester beginning around mid-September.
We at Varnam wish Yugendran all the best and may he soar to greater heights!
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