Lately, we have been receiving great news from our Alumni in terms of their educational or professional journeys and we are truly proud of all our Alumni out there.
Recently, Shaun Fendi Gan from the Class of 2017, was accepted into MIT Sloan School of Management for their Business Analytics program. Currently, Shaun is in his final year of BSc Physics at Imperial College London and recently completed an internship at Maxis as an AI & Advanced Analytics Intern.
Why MIT? And what is your future plan?
I wanted to go to MIT primarily to learn from people that will challenge me to achieve newer and greater heights. This was the main thing I was searching for as the next stage of my life, so I’m happy that I’ve been accepted at MIT! In terms of my future plans, I’d like to work in the US for a few years, if possible, before coming back to Malaysia. I’m looking to pursue a job in business analytics but nothing is set in stone yet.
After Masters, I plan on returning back to Malaysia because it’s still my home and there are a bunch of things I’d like to do.
Shaun, please share with us your journey after GIS? And how GIS helped you with your educational journey?
After I graduated from GIS in 2017, I went on to study Physics at Imperial College London. It’s been a long three years and I can safely say that I’ve learnt a fair few things in this time. GIS gave me a welcoming and enabling environment to grow and pursue what I was interested in, which helped to lay the foundations for many of the personal qualities that allowed me to achieve my goals. They helped me to feel confident in who I am and provided me with the enthusiasm to tackle life. I’ll always be grateful to Garden International School!
I’d like to thank a few teachers at GIS that made my time there very enjoyable. Namely, Ms Mangin, Mrs Lopez, Mr Netcher, Mr Davies, Mr Donaldson and Dr Wood, for being amazing teachers. I appreciate all the care and support that was put into making classes engaging. Thank you for being patient with me when I didn’t understand things and also thank you for replying to all my emails.
Additionally, many thanks to Ms Deakin, Mr Cartwright, Ms Clark & Mr Campbell for the enrichment sessions! Having a class which taught me cool things about the world, helped me to develop my interest in the subject I was reading and definitely taught me how to delve deeper.
What would be your advice to our current GIS students?
I have a few things I’d like to say to GIS students! Make sure to just try things out, especially if you don’t know what you want to do in life! There are so many things to do in GIS, go somewhere new for discovery week or take part in a school play! Just having those experiences will develop you further as a person, as you go on to figure out what you’re looking for in life! Listen to what teachers are teaching you. Things like the importance of a growth mindset are good to understand, and mindfulness is super good for stress relief. Also, pursue your interests and eventually, they’ll turn into passions!