Top Malaysian student “surprised”
Anasuya Jegathesan has been recognised as the most outstanding Malaysian student in South Australia in this year’s Australia Malaysia Business Council’s (AMBC) Merdeka Awards.
A candidate in the Doctorate of Counselling program in the School of Psychology, Jegathesan was presented with $1000 and a laptop computer by AMBC Patron and former Governor Sir Eric Neal at a dinner to mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence.
"I was really honoured and surprised to win," Jegathesan said.
Jegathesan recently returned from the Asian Association of Social Psychology conference in Sabah, Malaysia where she presented a paper on her research into the proactive risk minimisation strategies developed by nurses for whom English is an additional language in clinical practice.
She hopes to use her prize money to help with university expenses and maybe attend another conference.
Jegathesan said that once her thesis has been submitted, she plans to travel.
"I plan to go back to Malaysia in January to work but, before then, I hope to visit Cairns, Perth and Sydney, to see a bit of Australia I haven’t seen," she said.
The Australia Malaysia Business Council (SA) Merdeka Awards are open to final-year students at the three SA universities. Students are judged on a number of criteria, including that they should be good ambassadors for SA, have contributed towards developing strong relationships between SA and Malaysia, can demonstrate community involvement and outstanding academic achievement.
For information on how to apply, please contact Kathy Crockett, Secretary, AMBC (SA), PO Box 7270 Hutt Street SA 5000.