By: Nazrul Rapail
Student of Faculty of Modern Languages ?�??�?and Communication
SERDANG, Jan 11—"I fell, and I needed to bounce back." These are the words of encouragement from Mohamad Azwannizal Mohd Yusof, an archery athlete who received his Bachelor of Science (Human Resource Development) at the 44th Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) convocation ceremony, today.
Mohamad Azwannizal, 28, from Taiping, Perak, said his life was almost shattered at the beginning of his studies in 2016 when he obtained a low CGPA that resulted in his PTPTN study loan being withdrawn.
As he did not make it at the Faculty of Engineering, he switched his field of studies to Bachelor of Science (Human Resource Development) at the Faculty of Educational Studies, UPM, and managed to obtain the Dean's award twice and the Vice Chancellor's award once.
Not only that, he was also a certified archery coach who holds License C of the National Coaching Scheme of the National Sports Institute and owns an archery academy in Putrajaya.
"The COVID-19 pandemic made it a little difficult for me to get students to train, but I am very thankful as my ability and skills have helped me generate some income for myself to pay for my studies," he said.
Azwannizal, who won a silver medal at the 2017 IPT Games in Johor Bahru, said he had to manage his time wisely between studying and coaching.
“My coaching was scheduled to be on every Saturday and Sunday as I reserved Monday to Friday for my classes," said Azwannizal, who now works at a financial institution here.
Azwannizal, whose principles are always to think positively and not to give up, hoped that students get out of their comfort zones to develop a better self-identity. - UPM
