SMU ESSAY

1. Co- curricular Activities (CCA)

Please list the CCAs that you have participated in, which you consider as most important to you (Maximum 3 CCAs).
Please list your most important CCA first, followed by the second most important CCA, if any, and the third most
important CCA, if any. You must indicate at least one CCA.

ANSWER

I joined Kung Fu Shaolin Club in my school for 2 years. As I was growing up, I believe that I need to defend myself,
especially after May 1998 Riot which almost killed my dad. During the activities, I realized three things:

1. I enjoy overcoming the challenges. When I joined the club, I was the only beginner in this club while others
have joined for four or five years. Throughout six months, it was very difficult for me to follow what the
teacher taught us in demonstrating combat skills using sword and stick. The combat method was the
hardest part because it was designed for advanced level and my height was below than the average. This
motivated me to practise longer than the other students to get used to the skill. I usually practise after
going back from school for one hour daily for three months. As time went by, I was ranked top-in-class (out
of twelve people).
2. I enjoy working with other people in team. We paired up when it comes to self-defense training. Throughout
training session, we support each other and share our ability to synergize within a team.
3. I learn to be a good mentor and help juniors. In my second year, there were new members joining the club.
I saw them struggling as I was before. Thus, I offered myself to teach and support them to practise weekly.
I helped them to improve confidence and develop skills. Being a mentor also helped me to strengthen my
leadership skills and ability to give feedback while also building relationships.

This experience brings me to try new things out of my comfort zone to discover what I am capable of. I realized that
I can reach my goals if I push myself to work harder.

2. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (Max. 50 words) Commented [TI1]: During exam period  being tutor in
the class.
ANSWER When friend’s parents died  community work. Talk about
what she did, money & career is not important ada love
I help my school a better place by being a mathematic tutor in my class to help my friends understanding
family, how to get things in the place(cara menghibur dia).
materials. The tutoring sessions took place every Tuesday after school. I share my knowledge and we discussed to
solve math problems, so we could success together in the exam. Fallen trees  not confident enough
3. Personal Statement
Describe the highlights of your most outstanding achievements or contributions (Maximum: 300 words).
Information that is declared in this section may also be used for selection of admission into SMU under the
Discretionary Admissions framework. Examples of such achievements/contributions include but are not limited to
the following:
 Excellence and/or leadership in sports and/or arts;
 Impactful leadership and/or participation in community service and volunteer programs;
 Significant awards and achievements in area/s relevant to the course applied for;
 Noteworthy involvement in work (internship) relevant to the course applied for;
 Noteworthy involvement in entrepreneurial activity;
 Ability to overcome significant difficulties and life challenges.

ANSWER

For twenty years, my parents have operated clock shop. Based on my basic accountancy knowledge, I pointed out a
negative trend in profit margin in low-end watches. The easiest way to improve the performance is to increase the
watches sales. Since I am still in high school, I do not have any ability to invest in the shop yet. Despite that, I want
to focus on things that needs less money but gives highest return. First, I engaged with customers to build connection
with them to know what their purchasing criteria. Second, I developed strategy and executed it with minimum help.

I found that aesthetical aspect was the key driver to increase sales. For this reason, I increased the aesthetic business
with three approaches which are reusing eco-friendly cardboard to make the stand holders, creating an unique
display on the cardboard, and attaching led lighting in the shelves. During Christmas event, I put extra decoration
such as red and green background color in the shelves to create seasonal feeling to customers. Additionally, I
initiated promotion for specific items to boost sales. A month later, the sales for the target items are pushed by IDR
5Millions.

I did this improvement during my tight schedule in school. I realized time is an important valuable resource, so I
made a creative small slot in my schedule to make things done. This taught me how to make impactful result within
a short time period.

Additionally, this strategy experienced has enabled me to evaluate the highest return or impact with giving minimum
cost and effort. I believe having the degree in SMU help me to expand the business and boost the sales in much
greater level.

4. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent
over time?

ANSWER

I have known to be excellence in acrylic painting. I can be creative to combinate art tools, media, and color scheme
to bring picture together. To improve the skill, I joined painting competition and won a first place. I tried different
mediums of art namely watercolour to acquire new skill.