It’s people like this that make us proud to be Malaysian!
Meet Jia Yi Lim, a 17 year old Malaysian student. Jia Yi recently got accepted into some of the best schools in the world, including Harvard, Stanford, and Trinity College at the University of Cambridge.
Source: facebook
WORLD OF BUZZ reached out to Jia Yi recently and asked her about what it took to achieve as much as she did at such a young age.
Needless to say, the Petaling Jaya native is elated that she got into all of her dream schools. She told us,
“I was extremely surprised and overjoyed. I had to reread the letters three times before the news finally sank in.”
“Harvard, Stanford and the University of Cambridge have always been my dream schools due to their very strong research emphasis in the courses they teach.”
Source: facebook
Jia Yi attributed her success in gaining admission into these top schools to her “strong appetite for learning” and also applying what she learns.
She went on to explain that she volunteered at a disabled centre, where she learnt a lot about the rights of Malaysia’s disabled community.
This inspired her to establish Project Smile, a non-profit organisation which allows the disabled community to have long-term, therapeutic interactions with secondary school students.
Source: jia yi lim
That’s not all she’s done, either! Jia Yi also organised “The Street Store” in Kuala Lumpur, a temporary store providing homeless people with a proper shopping experience. This initiative helped clothe and feed over 300 homeless people.
“I believe that my passion to improve my community really resonated throughout my applications and I hope to use my education to help effect lasting change in the future.”
As someone who cares deeply about her community, Jia Yi says she hopes to become a policy-maker in the future.
“As I plan to major in Economics and Sociology, and possibly take courses in Physics and Technology, I want to learn how societies and economies are affected by the deep impact of the technology revolution on the labour force.”
Source: facebook
On what she would miss most about Malaysia once she leaves to study overseas, she had this to say;
“I grew up in Petaling Jaya and I have lived here all my life, so I will definitely miss home, my support network of family, friends, teachers and my two golden retrievers, who have been instrumental in this journey.”
Jia Yi isn’t the only one in her family who got into prestigious schools. Her older brother, Jiang An, played a big part in motivating her to try applying to these schools.
“Last year, he (her brother) managed to gain admission into the University of Cambridge for Medicine, which admits only 3-5 Malaysians each year.
Source: jia yi lim
“So, his admission was a big encouragement for me to try to apply to my dream universities as well.”
When asked what her advise for other young Malaysians with big dreams would be, she said,
“To other Malaysians with dreams of applying to these universities, my biggest advice is to try no matter how impossible it may seem.”
She also encourages young Malaysians to never limit themselves because of their age.
Source: facebook
When she was just 15 years old, Jia Yi entered a public speaking competition that had an age cap of 17-20 years, which made her the youngest contestant.
Despite this, she managed to go all the way to the national finals in this competition!
“Based on this experience, I learned to always seize the opportunity to learn, no matter what boundaries I faced. So, don’t limit yourself to your age; you should always try to stretch and challenge yourself.”
As for now, Jia Yi is still making the tough decision on choosing a school to attend.
Regardless of what school she chooses, we at WORLD OF BUZZ wish her all the best! She definitely has a bright future ahead of her!
Also read: Malaysian Girl Who Got Into All 8 Ivy League Schools Tells Us How She Did It
