Princeton Student takes Gap Year at Sunway
The world has shrunk with the advent of global degree programmes around the world with a common content, brought about by the shared goal of delivering a quality programme. Sunway University College (Sunway) was one such institution when Rina Ayob, a psychology sophomore from Princeton University took a gap year and completed a semester of studies in the Psychology Honours degree course offered by the Department of Psychology at Sunway.
An outspoken young lady with a gentle demeanour that hides a steely determination, Rina had her credits transferred easily to Princeton. “I am really pleased with that as it is a time-saver” she said, which also attests to the high standard of the psychology programme at Sunway.
Always fascinated about the science of human behaviour, Rina, a Malaysian, first came to know about the psychology department at Sunway when she became a research assistant during her summer holidays last year. She assisted in a survey on “Youth Lifestyles in Malaysia” by clinical psychologist Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin, Head of the School of Health and Natural Sciences, which oversees the psychology department.
22-year old Rina studied at SMK Damansara Jaya in Kuala Lumpur and did well enough to win a pre-university scholarship at the United World College of the Americas in West New Mexico prior to entering Princeton. Rina will return to Princeton next January where she will work towards gaining more experience that will put her in a better position to help others in the future. She shared “I am interested in child psychology and hope to work with women and children when I graduate”. She added “It is fascinating to work with children especially in their first five years, when their mind is easily shaped” she said.
Rina plans to spend the rest of her gap year here continuing with her volunteer work at the All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) as a para-counsellor, providing counselling and advice to women, on many issues including relationships and abuse.
When asked what she would like to see more of here, Rina replied “I hope more students will take time out to help the less fortunate. A student of any discipline should venture into the community and not feel inadequate as even at their level, their knowledge is sufficient to help others and they will learn a lot in turn” she said.
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