The four include Thamini Vijeyasingam, a former intern with FMT who spent six months on the Business Desk. The others are Bryan Lim, Victor Ngow, and Elisa See. They are among the 15.4% of international students selected across 94 countries to attend Harvard College.
In a statement, Nadiah Wan of Harvard Club of Malaysia said the Ivy League school admitted 1,937 students from a total of 54,008 applications, for an admission rate of a competitive 3.59%.
Thamini had interned at FMT and KAF Investment Bank during a gap year after her A-Levels. She was also active in debate and participated in national and regional competitions as well as the Model United Nations.
Azeem Abu Bakar, managing director of FMT Media Sdn Bhd, congratulated Thamini for being accepted into Harvard, saying “it came as no surprise to us”.
He said Thamini was able to grasp the intricacies of business extremely well during her six months with FMT, even though she was relatively new to the field. “We eagerly anticipate the continued growth of her career with great interest,” he said.
On the students selected, Nadiah said Lim was an IGCSE student at Garden International School, Ngow was an SPM student at SMK Damansara Utama, Thamini completed her secondary education at ELC International School, while See graduated from Marlborough College Malaysia.
Lim wants to major in computer science and applied mathematics, Ngow will pursue either environmental science and public policy or environmental engineering, Thamini plans to study economics and philosophy, while See intends to major in government (political science) and economics or computer science.
Nadiah also commended the resourcefulness and proactiveness of the four students, adding that they have contributed to their community in various ways.
According to Nadiah, Lim had represented Malaysia at the national level in the Mathematics and Computer Science Olympiads and junior basketball, while Ngow had invented a micro biofuel cell for a chemistry competition and was involved in Project ID, an education NGO.
See had interned at various organisations including Subang Jaya assemblyman Michelle Ng’s office and the Undi18 movement.
Harvard University, the oldest institute of higher education in the United States, is widely regarded to be among the top universities in the world and currently ranks fourth in the QS World University Rankings 2024.
Malaysia currently has less than 10 alumni from Harvard College.