SIXTY students receive the Teo Soo Pin Scholarships at KDU College in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, recently. The students were from several schools within the Klang Valley, including SMK (L) Methodist, SMK (P) Pudu, SMK Kepong FRI, SMK Kepong Baru, SMK Bukit Rahman Putra and SMK Seri Saujana.

Present at the scholarship presentation were KDU’s executive chairman Datuk Teo Chiang Quan, CEO and principal Dr Chia Chee Fen, vice principal Dr Tan Hui Leng, Centre for Pre-University manager Ong Soo Weon and Pre-University Academic Department head Sathyavathy Rasanayagam.

Teo, an alumnus of SMK (L) Methodist himself, presented the scholarship letters to the students, who were awarded based on their forecast SPM results.

Addressing the students, he told them the story of how KDU College was built on his grandfather and father’s expectations, aspirations and hope for the younger generation to have a better chance in education.

Datuk Teo Chiang Quan and the students from Methodist Boys School, Kuala Lumpur.

He said that although both his grandfather and father had little education, they held strong philanthropic values and contributed to society education-wise as they understood and saw the need for education for all, and instilled the concept of life-long learning in their children.

With that vision, KDU was born and the college began its legacy in awarding scholarships.

Teo also said that although academic grades are important, it should always be coupled with values such as honesty, diligence and having a sense of responsibility, trust and commitment.

Students should also concentrate on building their soft skills such as communicating with different people at different levels, as these will all be essential when they begin their journey to higher education as well as in their career.

Another 83 recipients from SMK Taman Bukit Maluri, SMK Taman Desa, SMK Damansara Utama. and SMK USJ 12 were also awarded the Teo Soo Pin Scholarship.

The scholarship is an ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility effort of the college and the Teo family, which began a few years after the inception of the college.

It is an academic merit-based scholarship awarded to high achievers in Government schools so that they can have an opportunity to get a good private education. It is also awarded in recognition of their good performance in school.

After the presentation, the students proceeded to a workshop called Six Thinking Hats, a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking, conducted by the college’s Teaching and Learning Centre trainers, Alwyn Lau and Nelson Allan.