UNIVERSITY OF CAMBODIA STUDENT RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY IN THAILAND

Chhun Seakkeav, 20, a seventhterm student of The University of Cambodia (UC), interviewed with The Southeast Asia Weekly, describing about how hard she worked to get a scholarship to study in Thailand. She is majoring in English literature. Seakkeav received a scholarship to study in Thailand after she was selected
by UC to participate in a five month exchange program at Payap University, starting from 26 October 2010 to 13 March 2011.

She that after she saw the announcement paper on the information board at UC, she was really interested in it. The scholarship provider demanded candidates to write a one page essay of their study plan and submit it before the deadline, so she decided to spend few hours to finish her essay and then submitted it to the
university.

“I thought that it was such a great chance for me to try and test my ability. Perhaps a week later, I got a phone call from The University of Cambodia for an interview with other six short-listed candidates. Finally, I was one of the two selected candidates and was interviewed by seven instructors at UC. Several days later, I was told that I won the scholarship. I was so excited,” she said. As she is majoring in literature, she decided to choose English com-exchange program in Thailand because it is related to her major. Over there, she selected five subjects, such as instructional skills, creative writing, introduction to poetry and drama, introduction to short stories and novels, and Southeast Asian dance.

“The beginning four subjects are the relevant subjects to my major. Although the dance class is not related to my major, what has inspired me to choose this course is the Thai cultural that motivated a curiousness to learn more,” she added. Living in the new environment, she had met some differences and challenges between studying in Cambodia and abroad, she said. Because of entering the international college, she could meet lots of friends from different countries and cultures,
from all around the world, such as America, China, Burma, Korea, Italy, England, Australia, etc. that had given her a great chance to practice her English skills.
She said that she had tried her best to represent Cambodian people to foreign students. “I felt that during the time I studied in Thailand, I had more responsibilities on behalf of Cambodian students in trying to promote my home country to foreign people,” she said.

While she over there, the challenge was higher than studying in Cambodia because most of the foreign students did well in their study performance. She said they worked really hard, so to compete with those students, she had to study hard too. Seakkeav found it hard to adjust herself to the new environment. She couldn’t manage things well during life over there and felt a little homesick, but the separated life from friends and family has taught her to be more independent than before.
This scholarship taught her a lot about student life during studying abroad. She has learnt about communicative skill with new people, building knowledge and capacity, feeling of missing home country, and especially being an independent person.

After enjoying life in Thailand for over five months, this March, she has come back to Cambodia, along with an unforgettable experience. She is now continuing her study at UC. She said that she is planning to further her study in Master’s Degree in the field of education abroad after three or four years of working experiences either in accounting or education. (SEAW)

BY CHRIN SAMVISAL