Civil Engineering

In the modern age, cities are progressing and expanding as technology advances.
Seeing limitless potential for someone to make his mark in shaping the developing
cities, I wanted to pursue a career that allows me to be involved in designing and
building the modern infrastructures, and that is civil engineering. I first heard of civil
engineering when I visited the PETRONAS Twin Towers many years ago. It was a
building iconic to my hometown Kuala Lumpur, just like how the Big Ben
represented London. The complexity and functionality of the design of the Twin
Towers was astounding and I find myself very fascinated by it. It sparked my interest
in buildings and infrastructures, and also the process of building it.

In my opinion, an ideal living place for human beings must accommodate to the
never ending advancement of technology, whilst not neglecting the preservation of
the environment. Our planet is slowly deteriorating and it should be everyones
concern. Therefore, I see the future of civil engineering steering towards a more
eco-friendly direction. The process of designing an infrastructure should take into
account of the biological environment as a factor. Hence, I planned to branch out to
environmental engineering in the future after I completed civil engineering as my
degree.

From the simplest rules to the more complicated mechanisms, I have always had
this genuine curiosity in the way things work. As a result, I developed a keen
interest in the science subjects while I am still studying in school. Physics have been
my favorite subject as it covers the fundamental laws of nature that governs the
order of the world. While I was gaining knowledge regarding the concepts of
science, I also developed an ability to take advantage of the knowledge by applying
them, either on a test paper or in everyday life. For example, the concept of
harmonics in stationary waves helped me to understand how my guitar worked and
consequently improved my playing technique. The fact that I was able to use the
knowledge I gained to help me in real life brings me great satisfaction.

To prepare myself for this career path, I joined the Young Enterprise program, held
by the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. We were supervised by General
Electric (G.E), a company that is involved in engineering itself. The program allowed
us to run a small enterprise, where we brainstorm and design our own products,
which would be sold to the market afterwards. Weve successfully designed
products that cater to some everyday problems. For example, weve designed a
product that is tasked to roll up and keep earphones neatly, so they dont tangle up
when we put them in our pockets. As the Human Resources Director of my
enterprise, I was able to hone leadership skills during my time there as well. The
experience is invaluable to me for when I become a civil engineer in the future, I will

need to work with other people to achieve a common goal. This program had given
me a taste of what it will be like.

During my time in college, I was a part of the organizing committee for a 30-Hour
Famine camp. The camp was a charity campaign to raise awareness about the
poverty and hunger that people in underdeveloped countries experience.
Organizing this event exposed me to the realistic nature of those living in hardship.
As a civil engineer, I hope to contribute towards projects that will enable them a
better life in the future. On a lighter note, I enjoyed playing music. I had the
opportunity to take part in performances and competitions at an international level
with the school harmonica and guitar band as well as the choir. Performing on stage
had played a major part in building my self-confidence.

I choose to study in the UK because the quality of tertiary education is proven, with
so many top universities residing there. The UK is also home to many diverse
cultures, and I would love to experience it during my stay there, as it would
definitely be a new and rewarding exposure.