The Global Graduates award is the premier award upon for students who represent The University of Tulsa as a global citizens. This select group of graduating undergraduate students are distinguished for excelling academically, contributing to the TU campus community, and partaking in unique experiences abroad. This will be a multi-part series featuring all of our 2020 Global Graduates.
Major: Petroleum Engineering (with Minor in Economics)
Hometown: Selangor, Malaysia
Relevant TU Activities and Leadership:
- 2019 – Mar. 2020, Co-Founder and President for United Nations Association.
- May 2018 – May 2019, President for Association of International Students.
- 2018 – Mar. 2020, Vice President of Malaysian Student Association.
- 2018 – Mar. 2020 Research Assistant for Department of Chemical Engineering.
- 2017 – Dec. 2018, Treasurer for Society of Petroleum Engineers.
- 2019 First Place in 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers National
Student Paper Competition
- 2019 First Place in 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Mid-America
Regional Conference Student Paper Competition
- 2019 First Place in 22nd University of Tulsa Annual Student Research Colloquium (Video Category)
Can you tell us a bit about your experience as an international student at TU?:
I am an international student from Malaysia; however, I have also participated in a faculty led study abroad program to Albi, France for my ES 4233 Sustainable Energy class (summer 2019). It was truly amazing to gain insight on the technical knowledge and challenges of various sustainable energy sources, including solar and wind energy in Europe. The opportunity to visit sustainable energy research facilities and power plants, as well as the chances to learn and discuss various topics regarding the energy industry with researchers, professors, and fellow students was very rewarding.
In addition to that, in the same summer, I also had the privilege to represent TU at the World’s Challenge Challenge Competition in London, Canada. With the support of two friends, we worked closely with an NGO I interned with in Malawi and initiated a project to provide an alternative energy solution to developing countries lacking electric and gasoline cooking facilities. We designed the Community Biogas Cooking Facility, which is a small-scale communal kitchen that utilizes a simple mechanism to convert solid organic waste to biogas. Knowing that our project aligned with six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we pitched our design and won first place in a competition called World’s Challenge Challenge held in The University of Tulsa. By winning this competition, which challenges participants to come up with innovative solutions for global issues, our team secured funding to further our project and received the honor to represent our university to compete against 19 other universities from across 9 countries in the World’s Challenge Challenge Global Final held in London, Canada in summer 2019.
Post Graduation Plans:
I plan to pursue a cross-disciplinary graduate degree that can bestow me with knowledge regarding the technical, and more than technical side of the energy industry. I have currently received offers for graduate schools, including MSc Environmental Technology (with a focus in Energy Policy) at Imperial College London, UK; MSc Environmental Systems Engineering (with a focus in Energy Systems) at University College London, UK; MSc Economics and Policy for Energy and the Environment at University College London, UK; but I am still waiting to hear back from another program to make my final decision.
Who or what influenced you to study at TU?:
I have always had a strong passion for the energy industry ever since I realized that accessibility and sustainability of energy resources play a crucial role in a country’s development. There is no development without energy. When I was preparing for my college application, I had the opportunity to talk to a TU alumni (graduated from Petroleum Engineering program), and he highly recommended TU’s Petroleum Engineering program to me.
What has been your favorite part of your experiences?:
My favorite part is TU will be how accessible and helpful the professors at TU are. I would not have been able to accomplish so much in research, academic, and conference presentation without the help and opportunities given by the professors at TU. As a proud member of the TU family, I am incredibly grateful for all the opportunities I was given to represent TU in various events in-and-out of the United States. For example, I represented TU in several engineering conferences and won first place in the 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Mid-America Regional Conference Student Paper Competition, which qualified me to present my scientific research at TU in the upcoming national conference. Last summer, I also represented TU in the 2019 United Nations Association Global Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C., and the World’s Challenge Competition held in London, Canada. I see all these outreach activities as an avenue for me to give back to TU for the opportunity that TU has given me to grow as a leader, and I look forward to representing TU in many other future events to come.
How has studying abroad/at TU influenced your future career/goals/ post grad life/ etc.?: My experience at TU has inspired to pursue a graduate degree that can give me a more holistic view on the energy industry, and I believe that by combining my undergraduate experiences with the multi-disciplinary knowledge regarding the energy industry that I will acquire in graduate school, I will be able to become a future leader in the energy industry, and steer my country towards a more sustainable energy landscape in the long run.
Last Remarks: My story in TU can be summarized with one phrase – bringing the world to TU, and TU to the world. I realized that as an international student, I have an important role to play in providing a global learning environment to the TU community and to cultivate global awareness among the future leaders at TU.