Sarin's Chevening Journey 2022

My dream to study in the United Kingdom (UK) for not just a day, a month, a year but over a decade. Before receiving such an exceptionally prestigious scholarship, I went through a great deal of anxiety, stress, and effort with determination, persistence, and support. WHY and HOW...? 

I've been inspired by my dad's words: "We are born impoverished. If we have the opportunity to study, we should go ahead until reaching the highest level of education possible because only education can lift us out of poverty and provide us with more opportunities to contribute to the development of our society". This has prompted me to consider my long-held desire to study abroad. My mom, on the other hand, did not have the chance to attend formal education, but she was the most dedicated woman in encouraging me to pursue my higher education.

Due to  my family's precarious financial situation, I had to work as a waiter in a restaurant while attending university to supplement my income. I remembered that I could only earn $4-$5 per day working from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.. I frequently had to ask teachers to leave class early, so I could go to work on time (all students left at 5 p.m., but I only had to leave at 3 or 4 p.m.). Every time when I stood up and walked out of class, some of my classmates clapped hands with the words "go again, go again!". In this sense, I did not expect to be a top student. The most important thing was to have adequate time to work in order to help the family's financial status. For that reason, my academic outcome was not as good as that of others, and some subjects had to be retaken following supplementary exams due to poor attendance and participation. 

While pursuing a bachelor's degree, I applied for a scholarship overseas nine times (seven failed in the first round and two failed in the interview stage). My dream of studying abroad nearly disappeared as a result of countless failures and a lack of motivation to move on. I then began to ponder, wondering, "Why did I pass the exam but fail the interviews?" The only reason was that my English skills were inadequate, and I could only introduce myself and answer the questions a little during those two interviews. As a result, I decided to learn and focus more on English by cycling to study in the church (near Phsar Doeum Kor), about 9 km from my accommodation, and learning from friends on a regular basis because I could not afford the tuition fee. I told myself that I would put my dream on hold until I could improve my English skills in order to be best prepared for a master's scholarship in the UK. 

Although it took years to develop my ability to meet all of the requirements for this scholarship, my dream remained ingrained in me, along with the motivation of my mom, who was always there for me and reminded me, "you can do it." On August 2, 2021, I applied for the UK Government Scholarship through the Chevening programme to study for a master's degree in the UK because I was confident that I could meet all of the requirements, which included work experience, potential leadership skills, effective networking skills, concrete career plans, and English proficiency. 

Due to the prestigious nature of the Chevening scholarship, each candidate had to go through several stages, including writing an application (four essays), a face-to-face interview at the British Embassy in Cambodia, and university admissions. The most painful, anxious, and memorable stage of the scholarship for me was applying for university admissions, which I did not expect to be challenged by at all.

Following the interview results, each candidate was required to obtain at least one unconditional offer letter from each of the three chosen universities. Then, one of my three universities withdrew my application because the deposit payment had expired (I requested the extension twice already). 14 days were insufficient time to contact the university in the UK to get admissions accepted. One week later, one of my two universities rejected my application, despite my best efforts to negotiate and explain why I didn't meet one of my criteria. Less options, more pressure and stress! If I did not receive an unconditional offer from my last university, my Chevening scholarship would be withdrawn. Fortunately, my last university confirmed to issue me the offer letter, where I could meet all the Chevening requirements. 

To cut a long story short, despite the fact that this scholarship was highly competitive and complicated, with many stages, I am proud and over the moon to share that I have been #ChosenForChevening to pursue a master’s degree in the UK for the cohort 2022-2023. I’m greatly honored to be on the top 2%-3% among over 64,000 applicants worldwide, spanning more than 141 countries. This achievement would not have been possible without the consistent support of all individuals, including seniors, mentors, lecturers, friends, and family. A heartfelt thanks to Chevening Awards, British Embassy Cambodia, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and my universities in Cambodia, and UK university for this opportunity. It should be noted that universities in the UK have very strict recruitment policies as thousands of students apply for admission each year. Finally, I would like to encourage those who wish to further their studies in the UK to be well prepared to apply for a Chevening Scholarship this year and in the future. I am more than delighted to share with and support those who aspire to apply for this exceptionally prestigious scholarship.

Again and again, be well-prepared, persistent, and determined to be the next person to hold this #ChosenForChevening poster.  

#ChosenForChevening | #CheveningKh | #StudyInUK

ដោយក្តីគោរព ស្រលាញ់  និងរាប់អាន! 

𝗦𝗢𝗞  𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗶𝗡-សុខ សារិន

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