Hii Puong Hou (second from right) and Mr Guan Leong Heng (centre), Deputy Director of DSA, holding up the signed agreement, while Puong Hou’s father (leftmost), who is an alumnus of TAR UC, Mr Chan Kee Chien (second from left), Manager of DSA and Mr Tengku Mohammad (extreme right), Administration and Activities Officer of DSA, look on.
Hii Puong Hou, a Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) in Software Engineering student, is not your average Joe as he is the very first person to obtain the new TAR UC Sports Scholarship. He was bestowed the scholarship on 21 November 2019, which entitles him to a 100% waiver of tuition fee for his Bachelor degree programme for three years.
The scholarship, which was open for application on 12 August 2019, aims to nurture promising young athletes into well-rounded individuals by providing financial aid for them to hone their sporting talents while continuing their tertiary education at TAR UC. The criteria for the scholarship require students to have outstanding performance and result in sports (state level, national level and international level). He or she must also be a Malaysian citizen.
When asked how he felt, Puong Hou said: “After receiving a confirmation call from the Department of Student Affairs (‘DSA’) that I was being offered the scholarship, I felt extremely excited and knew this was another big step towards my dreams. I am grateful to be the first scholar to receive the TAR UC Sports Scholarship and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next in my university life.”
“Among thousands of swimmers in Malaysia, I was one of the 30 swimmers selected to represent Malaysia to compete in ASEAN Schools Games and SEA Age group swimming Championships in the past. I also competed in 2018 SUKMA and got a Bronze medal. In the future, I will compete in SUKMA 2020 and University games during the course of my Bachelor’s degree,” he continued.
For those who would like to follow in his footsteps, Puong Hou has an advice for them. “For students who would like to go further in sports and still be able to continue pursuing their tertiary education, this scholarship is for you. Do not hesitate to try applying for this scholarship, just go for it!” he said.
