Sarawakian SPM Student Champions Academic Hurdles And Bags RM50k Career Scholarship
Mohd Haziq Aqil Hass is a top scorer in his school and is also the head prefect.
By Jasmine Chea — 21 Oct 2022, 12:35 PM — Updated about 2 years ago
A Sarawakian teenager from the small town of Samarahan, Sarawak proved to many that if you put your mind into something, you can achieve great things
On 12 October, 17-year-old Mohd Haziq Aqil Hass from SMK Hajjah Laila Taib was selected to receive the Ascendance Founders Award 2022 with a scholarship prize of RM50,000.
The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidate was selected for the scholarship out of hundreds of students from across the world in recognition of his impressive academic, extra-curricular, and career progression.
According to Focus Malaysia, Mohd Haziq is no stranger to emceeing multiple international conferences and is part of an online show for the Ascendance organisation, 'Ascendance Weekly Round-Up' where he regularly featured.
He also is a representative of Sarawak in the ongoing 'e-Mas 3.0 Speech Competition' organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE), a top-scoring student, and the head prefect in his school.
Seeing as English wasn't his strong suit at one point in time, the head prefect has overcome many hurdles and achieved great things even before leaving secondary school.
Mohd Haziq speaking on an Ascendance online show 'Ascendance Weekly Round-Up' on Facebook.
Image via Ascendance (Facebook)The Ascendance Scholarship will begin in 2023 after Mohd Haziq completes his SPM examinations
In addition to the RM50,000 scholarship, Mohd Haziq will be going on a three month all-expense-paid trip to the Ascendance headquarters (HQ) in Shah Alam, Selangor.
In Selangor, he will be attending mentorship sessions with the Ascendance organisation's co-founders, where he will receive guidance on developing his career as well as help with launching his own personal social impact project.
"Thank you, everyone, especially my mentor, for guiding me over the past year. I'm beyond grateful for this award. Most importantly, I would like to thank my parents for their endless support," he said.
Mohd Haziq speaking about his experience with Ascendance to his peers at his school.
Image via Ascendance/Focus MalaysiaBefore his great achievements, Mohd Haziq admitted that he was someone who lacked direction in life.
That was until he chanced upon an online conference arranged by Ascendance.
"I was just a normal kid who lacked confidence and communication skills. I didn't know what I loved to do, nor did I care about what was happening in the world, until I joined an online conference (previously known as the New Age Learner Virtual Conference) by Ascendance that taught me about life," he said in a statement by the organisation.
He credits his achievements and progression in his studies and career to Ascendance saying, "I reached where I am today with the opportunities that Ascendance gave me."
The Sarawakian youth encouraged others to "take the first step" and see where it takes them.
The Ascendance organisation was founded by four youths in 2015, where their aim was to empower young people to chase their goals and find their passion.
With workshops and programmes, Ascendance has fostered 35,000 youths in over 28 countries over the past seven years, to chase their careers and educational ambitions by providing them access to world-class resources.
Mohd Haziq (second from left) at a press launch with the Ascendance team and co-founders in June 2022.
Image via Ascendance/Focus Malaysia