(This was written in July of 2024. Read Part 1 and Part 2)
I know that now is the season for Chevening applicants to receive their interview results. So here I am, sharing with you a Chevening 'reject' story because 'success' stories are already too saturated out there. Take it as a 'rejection as a redirection' kind of story. This is a continuation of this post that I shared from 2 years ago after an unsuccessful attempt at the interview stage. I'm still grateful for being shortlisted though.
In my career plan essay, for the mid-term plan (2025-2027), I wrote about wanting to pitch my civic education integrated curriculum to the District Education Office (PPD) and the Sabah State Education Department (JPN), and planned to have it scaled to other teachers. I also mentioned about organizing a virtual workshop for it.
Interestingly, recently I casually shared about my recent English and civic edu integrated PBL innovation with the officer at the PPD, and she decided to reach out to other PPDs and teachers in the state to see if there are teachers interested in scaling my innovation. During our last meeting, we were planning the timeline for the program and how to go about it. Although it's a slight variation from what I had planned in my application essay, it is similar in that what I have come up with is being scaled to other teachers through the PPDs. A month prior to this, I have also facilitated an online workshop and share the framework of my innovation to the participants.
So what I'm trying to say here is, for me, rejection isn't an excuse to stop myself from doing the things necessary to reach my goal. I can still do it without the scholarship.
Hopefully, this story resonates with you. However, I understand that it may not apply to every rejected applicant, as some may need the scholarship to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve their goals and apply what they have learned in the Malaysian context after returning from the UK. Direct guidance and tutorials from professors at the universities are necessary to understand the concepts they will acquire. If this is the case for you, then you can always try reapplying!
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