How long have you been with ASB?

I joined ASB in July 2017, less than a month after my return to Malaysia.

In one or two sentences tell us what you do? Or what your typical day looks like here?

I work in the Admissions Department as an Assistant Director. So, that means I do a little bit of everything. In a nutshell, I help recruit and evaluate prospective students. Some of the things I do within Admissions are help to put together Admissions events (Info Sessions held on and off-campus, Coffee Chats, Webinars, Classroom Previews, Admit Weekend, Preview Days, MBA-focused events), conduct outreach initiatives to potential aligned partners, review applications as well as interview applicants. On the operations side, I also help improve various processes and manage the application pipeline within our department.

What kind of project are you currently working on?

I am helping out our newest program, Master of Central Banking getting started, while continuing to help refine our MBA Full Time and MBA for Working Professionals recruitment and admissions processes.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Meeting people! I really enjoy being able to get to know prospective students and help them come to an informed decision. When they do end up coming here, it is great to see them not only succeed but excel here at ASB.

What are you most proud of so far?

I am really proud when I see students that I helped bring to ASB thrive here! It is great to know that I am part of their educational and professional journey.

Can you tell me a little about the team you have been working with?

We are a growing team who are extremely collaborative and an absolute pleasure to work with! We are also quite diverse: Sean, Emily and Alex are from the United States, Gulnura is from Kazakhstan, Hameed is from the Maldives, Rafhanah, Brian, Vivien and myself are Malaysians with international experience. There are periods when it gets quite intense in Admissions but we know we can rely on each other to help deliver our objectives.

What do you think is the most unique aspect of the company?

I think the most unique aspect of ASB is the diversity. I saw this as well in my previous job at the MBA Program Office at MIT Sloan in Massachusetts. The learning environment that is created when you have so many different people from around the world come together with the same mission is incredible.

What makes you good at your job?

Empathy. Coming from an international background has given me the understanding to communicate with people from different backgrounds, and makes it easier to connect with prospective students and understand their needs so I can provide them real information they can use to make the right decision for themselves.

What are the biggest rewards of working for ASB?

The people at ASB! And being able to stay connected to MIT – we have MIT Sloan professors coming on campus to give lectures and teach some of the classes here at ASB, some of our staff as well as ASB Resident Faculty are MIT graduates, and ASB Admissions has a great working relationship with MIT Sloan Admissions.

What are some challenges you face in your job, and how do you tackle them?

We are a new school, somewhat still in start-up mode which is exciting but that also means that being the new kid on the block, not many people have heard of us. We would love to let more people know about ASB!

At ASB, we are an interesting hybrid of MIT higher education culture and the Malaysian/Asian dominant culture – and we want to bring the best of both worlds to create a unique ASB culture. Throw in people from more than 20 countries into the mix, and so every day is a learning opportunity to check your biases at the door, show up with an open heart and mind, and be ready to learn from other people and other points of view.

How do you think you can contribute to ASB’s growing success?

After seeing the value that a world class learning and talent hub can have on the Greater Boston area around MIT, I want to help bring that same dynamism here to Kuala Lumpur. I would love to help contribute by getting the best people from around the world to come to ASB!