tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post111830899954774736..comments2024-03-21T20:10:28.943+08:00Comments on EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: Top Scorers Fail to Get Scholarships (II)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-1118745178331877462005-06-14T18:32:00.000+08:002005-06-14T18:32:00.000+08:00OLDMAN says - This should be an interesting read w...OLDMAN says - This should be an interesting read with some more details than what I have posted earlier elsewhere: <BR/><BR/>Stanford Report, June 12, 2005<BR/>After traditional Commencement antics, Jobs imparts straightforward advice<BR/><BR/>BY MICHAEL PEÑA<BR/><BR/>Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks—including death itself—at the university's 114th Commencement on Sunday in Stanford Stadium.<BR/><BR/>Wearing jeans and sandals under his black robe, Jobs delivered a keynote address that spanned his adoption at birth to his insights into mortality after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago. In plainspoken terms, his address struck a balance between the obstacles he has encountered during his notably public life and the lessons he has gleaned—from, for example, his high-profile ousting in 1985 from the computer company he helped start.<BR/><BR/>"I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me," Jobs said. "It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life."<BR/><BR/>The 2005 Commencement proceeded with its familiar mix of the goofy and the formal: Graduates attached plush animals to their caps and carried body-length flotation devices onto the field for the Wacky Walk. This traditional kickoff to the ceremony was once again a flurry of wild wigs, rock-star shades, feather boas and a few Speedo swim trunks.<BR/><BR/>Also sighted was a procession of walking iPods, several balloon floats, spray-painted umbrellas and one group that unfurled a volleyball net and spontaneously started to play. Another group blitzed the field with boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and still another pranced down the track in tutus and ape masks.<BR/><BR/>But calm was restored once the graduates took their seats and the Rev. Scotty McLennan, dean for religious life, delivered the opening invocation. President John Hennessy then welcomed the estimated 23,000 people in the stadium and, after a presentation of faculty, staff and student awards by Provost John Etchemendy, returned to the podium to introduce the keynote speaker.<BR/><BR/>Hennessy said Jobs embodied the university's spirit, its "willingness to be bold and strike out in new directions." Hennessy also touched on Jobs' reputation as an innovator, a visionary and an advocate for education who developed partnerships during Apple's earliest days to get computers into schools and communities.<BR/><BR/>Jobs began by rehashing the fact that he dropped out of college, and that Sunday's ceremony was the closest he had ever gotten to a university graduation. He then launched into the first part of his address, which focused on having faith that the dots of one's life will connect down the road, even if the journey so far has not followed a clear pattern.<BR/><BR/>Jobs said his biological mother was an unwed graduate student who had planned to have him adopted. She had chosen a professional couple to be the adoptive parents, but because they wanted a girl, he was adopted by a husband and wife who didn't have college degrees, Jobs said.<BR/><BR/>They pledged to send the boy to college, and when the time came, he chose Reed College in Portland, Ore. But because all of their savings was going toward his tuition, Jobs dropped out and began taking courses that interested him instead of those that were required—such as a calligraphy course that later inspired him to design different fonts in the first Macintosh.<BR/><BR/>"Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward," Jobs said. "You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."<BR/><BR/>Jobs also talked about love and loss, and how he discovered what he wanted to do in life at an early age. He was 20 years old when he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple, which in 10 years grew into a $2 billion company with 4,000 employees. After his departure from Apple, Jobs went on to found NeXT Software Inc., which was subsequently bought by Apple in 1997—returning him to the company that got him started.<BR/><BR/>"I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple," Jobs said. "I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did."<BR/><BR/>The last part of his speech was about death. When he was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago, Jobs said doctors expected him to live no longer than six months. He had surgery not long after and has since recovered, but the experience nonetheless taught him another lesson.<BR/><BR/>"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life," Jobs said. "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."<BR/><BR/>After a standing ovation, Hennessy brought the ceremony to a close with remarks that honored Jane Stanford—this year being the centennial of her death. The graduates of each school were then asked by their deans to stand for the conferral of degrees by Hennessy.<BR/><BR/>"I just can't believe that I got here," said Farah Giga, who graduated with a bachelor's degree with honors in computer science. "This makes five all-nighters in a row totally worth it."<BR/><BR/>Kateri Jones sat among family members who came from all over California and Colorado for her daughter, Dyani Jones, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in human biology. One of the biggest achievements, her mother said, was just getting to this point.<BR/><BR/>"I just think it's a remarkable accomplishment to get through this school," she said. "Just the challenge of being here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-1118743702687866492005-06-14T18:08:00.000+08:002005-06-14T18:08:00.000+08:00Tiara, haven't you figure it out yet.. 98% of all ...Tiara, haven't you figure it out yet.. 98% of all scholarship students that come from a not so well-off family background has a family culture that reinforced to their children what are the stereotypical successful career professions to take up, make the family proud, move up on the social ladder = money (stability), repay back the family's hardship in bringing them up. Don't tell me, if your family is poor poor, if you have a choice between being a musician or to be a lawyer, you wouldn't feel the pressure in making the "right decision?" Those who are from well-off family usually have more options to choose something they really like to do, provided their family culture permits it.<BR/><BR/>Old ManAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-1118370900251042002005-06-10T10:35:00.000+08:002005-06-10T10:35:00.000+08:00Can I just ask something?This is more related to l...Can I just ask something?<BR/><BR/>This is more related to last year's case than this year's case, but...<BR/><BR/>Why on Earth do ALL the top scorers want to do MEDICINE?!?!<BR/><BR/>Do they honestly want to do Medicine or are they just doing it because it was expected of them?<BR/><BR/>Why not do some other subject? There are tons of things to learn in this world.<BR/><BR/>That really ticked me off when I heard about it and I never quite figured it out.<BR/><BR/>B*B, Tiara<BR/>Login not working for me o_OAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12123329.post-1118336080771326152005-06-10T00:54:00.000+08:002005-06-10T00:54:00.000+08:00Family background is a nice way of putting things....Family background is a nice way of putting things. It is actually the criteria of whether their parents can afford overseas studies. A JPA applicant has to submit a copy of both his parents' J form.vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269899948248196778noreply@blogger.com