National women’s doubles shuttler Thinaah Muralitharan hopes her achievements inspire young student-athletes, showing that with persistence, both academic and athletic success are within reach.
The 26-year-old Olympian graduated on Saturday (Oct 26) with a Bachelor of Education (Teaching English as a Second Language) from Open University Malaysia (OUM), and was conferred the sports icon award, in recognition of her outstanding performance in sports and having represented Malaysia at the Olympic Games.
In the same ceremony, social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye was also conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Education in recognition for his contributions to the education sector.
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00:00National women's double shuttler Tina Muralitharan hopes her achievements inspire young student
00:05athletes to see that, with persistence, they too can earn degrees and shape their futures.
00:11The 26-year-old Olympian officially graduated on Saturday with a Bachelor of Education,
00:16teaching English as a second language, from Open University Malaysia, OUM.
00:21I think it's equally important as a human being that education and also sports is really
00:27important, but if you really enjoy and do it, I think anything is possible.
00:32The main reason I took TESOL is also because I travel a lot for tournaments and stuff,
00:37so I go to many countries, and in some countries, English is their first language, so I feel
00:43that English is really important because that's how I really communicate with players from
00:46other countries and stuff like that, because it's not easy, if you don't know English,
00:51it's not easy to go to other countries and communicate with them.
00:55In recognition of her exceptional performance in sports and her participation in the Olympics,
01:01Tina also received OUM's Special Sports Icon Award during its 28th convocation, which
01:06honours students excelling academically while contributing significantly to sports.
01:12When asked about her future plans, Tina said she intends to take a break, consult with
01:16her family and determine her next steps.
01:19Since young, we knew that education is really important, but they also really supported
01:24me in my sports journey.
01:25Not many parents will support doing both or maybe just ask them to focus in one, but I'm
01:31grateful that my parents, my family members, they really support me in both, and they didn't
01:37care that in the beginning I was just focusing on sports alone, they knew somehow that I
01:42would be able to manage this both, so that confidence that they had in me really helped
01:47me throughout the years and to make me who I am today.
01:53During the same ceremony, social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thai was conferred an Honorary
01:57Doctorate of Philosophy in Education for his contributions to the field.
02:02He expressed gratitude for the award, emphasising that true learning extends beyond grades,
02:07encompassing lifelong achievements.
02:09After completing my secondary school education, while many of my peers pursued university
02:18degrees, I chose a different path, and that is the school of hard knocks.
02:28And through real world experiences, I gained invaluable knowledge after learning life's
02:35most important lessons by confronting adversity and challenges head on.
02:43He hoped the honour would inspire others to engage with society and promote lifelong
02:49learning for the greater good.
02:50Education, ladies and gentlemen, is more than degrees.
02:53It is about a lifelong journey of learning, growing and giving back to society.
03:01I would like all of you to embrace, to embrace the core values of excellence, discipline,
03:09integrity, mutual respect, confidence, openness in communication and, last but not least,
03:18humility, and put them into practice now and in the future, irrespective of what profession
03:25you are in.
03:27OUM's 28th Convocation, held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur WTCKL from October
03:3426th to 29th, will see a total of 6,476 graduates receiving their scrolls.