With great joy and pride, parents, faculty, invited guests and graduates gathered to celebrate the culmination of hard work, dedication, and the pursuit of knowledge in the Taylor's American Degree Transfer Programme (ADTP) Class of 2024 Commencement Ceremony. The ceremony marked a significant milestone in the lives of the graduates, a moment where dreams and aspirations meet with achievement and success. Each graduate seated had navigated a unique journey, overcoming obstacles, seizing opportunities, and demonstrating remarkable perseverance throughout their academic endeavors.
The ceremony started with a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Anindita Dasgupta, Head of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She commended the graduating class for their grit, which has thus enabled them to transfer to prestigious universities globally to complete their undergraduate studies. Prof. Dr. Anindita emphasized that Taylor's ADTP graduates represent a mosaic of cultures, ideas, and backgrounds. She thanked all parents, faculty and the Taylor’s University Placement Office personally for the support and dedication afforded to each graduate. She reiterated the commitment of the programme and school to support each of their student’s academic journeys.
Prof. Dr. Anindita then introduced the Keynote Speaker for the event, a Lawyer by training, a Veteran Politician cum Member of Parliament of the Beruas Constituency, YB Dato' Ngeh Koo Ham to the audience. YB Dato’ Ngeh took to the stage to share some life lessons and principles that the graduates should adapt to ensure they reap success and happiness in their lives. He encouraged them to have gratitude, be resilient, hone relevant skillsets and give back to society to mention a few. He applauded the commitment and support provided by the faculty and administrators of the Taylor's ADTP programme, as his three children, who are doing very well in their respective lives, are proud ADTP alumni themselves.
ADTP’s Programme Director, Dr. Loh Kah Heng, subsequently addressed the audience and shared some highlights and achievements of the programme over the past year. He stated that the student numbers of the programme have been on a steady rise. Several milestones achieved in 2023 and 2024 were the successful student driven events, high impact research publications, the use of AI approaches in teaching and learning and the filing of 10 copyrights for industrial designs by ADTP students with close supervision from their lecturers. Thus, affirming the programme's commitment to holistic education, global perspectives, and experiential learning.
Ms. Shanice Foo Wei Fang, Vice President and Head of Sales & Dealing, Retail Business, Equity Markets at AmInvestment Bank Berhad graced the event by presenting the AmInvestment Bank Book Prize Awards to the four top students of the Class of 2024, each recognized for their excellence in their Majors – Engineering, Business, Computer Science and Liberal Arts. This was followed by the presentation of the Honors Student Awards by Prof. Dr. Anindita Dasgupta.
Each graduate received their scrolls from YB Dato' Ngeh Koo Ham and eagerly posed for photos. Ms. Anya Nair, the Valedictorian of the Class of 2024, was presented with a souvenir by Ms. Norshahila Mohamad Razak, Head of the Department of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. In her speech, Anya reflected on the past two years, recounting the events, activities, and academic milestones that she and her fellow graduates had experienced during their ADTP/Malaysian journey.
The event concluded with a celebratory cake cutting ceremony by all graduates and the photo booth set up at the entrance of the venue was a definite pit stop with every attendee giving his or her most memorable pose. Heartfelt congratulations to the graduating class of 2024. May you continue to reach new heights, pursue your dreams with passion, and embrace the opportunities that await you.