Core Committee
The role of the core committee is pivotal to the success of the USAPPS annual workshops. The core spends the leading months planning and revising aspects of the workshop based on previous feedback. In addition to logistical work, it reaches out to as many college students as it can, recruiting more and more people from various backgrounds into the USAPPS family. The goal: to create a diverse pool of facilitators to present and share at workshops. But of course, the workshop would be nothing without its participants. Hence, a significant effort is placed into marketing USAPPS to secondary school students and pre-u students.
Teng Chan Leong
Carnegie Mellon University ’14
Chan Leong is a rising senior in Chemical Engineering in Carnegie Mellon University. He was accepted through Early Decision in January 2010, about 6 months after participating in USAPPS 2009. This would be his fifth year with USAPPS. He is actively involved in Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity and loves snowboarding. He believes that USAPPS will continue to introduce the different types of universities in US, how to get there and connect those who are interested to learn more about US education with those who are studying there.
Jing Min Chia (Jeamme)
Sarah Lawrence College ’13
Jing Min is a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, where she concentrated in Economics and Politics. She is currently working at the United Nations, and one day hopes to get her PhD/MBA. She loves USAPPS because it opens up a world of educational opportunities for Malaysian students, and the people are awesome. An avid foodie from Penang, one should never come between her and char koay teow.
Charis Loke
Brown University ’13
Charis graduated in May from Brown University, where, not being content with a biochemistry concentration, she also studied illustration and animation, among other things like German and medieval history. She was a facilitator for USAPPS in 2009 and 2011, finding it a great way to share the benefits of an American liberal arts education with prospective Malaysian students as well as mentoring them through the application process later. Something she did not anticipate before going to college was just how supportive her professors would be and how much of an impact they would have on her personal growth, for which she is very grateful.
Nurul Hidayah Hassan
New York University ’14
Hidayah is a rising senior at New York University, currently pursuing a degree in Economics and a minor in Psychology and recently discovering her passion in dancing and cinematography. She first joined USAPPS as a participant in 2010 and then as a facilitator in 2011. Before USAPPS, Hidayah did not know anything about US colleges except the famous Ivy Leagues. Through USAPPS, she learned about her school options in the US and managed to survive the confusing application process. As much as she’s in love with New York City, she’ll be back this summer and is prepared to brag and whine, (ahem), talk about going to school in one of the greatest cities in the world! She can be contacted via nurulhhassan@gmail.com
Melwyn Pak
Brown University ’15
After being told that he was a “confused kid” for wanting to study many different things, Melwyn had the luck of being able to attend a school which prides itself on the inter-disciplinary nature of its academic departments while doing his best to pursue a concentration in Computer Science. A rising junior, he is now interested in making young Malaysians aware of the various opportunities that they have and encouraging them to take it. While concentrating in Computer Science essentially ensures that his plate is always full, Melwyn is prone to dropping his work to answer questions about applying to the US and the US education system in general. He can always be distracted (and he welcomes it) by dropping him a line at melwynpak [at] gmail [dot] com or a message on Facebook.
Jo-Anne Loh
Columbia University ’16
Jo-Anne Loh is a rising sophomore in Columbia University. She is majoring in Financial Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She is VP of the Southeast Asian League, writes for the newspaper and is a member of the ballroom dance team. This is her 3rd year of experience with USAPPS, as a participant, facilitator and now coordinator. USAPPS has helped her network with so many amazing people and opened her eyes to countless opportunities. She wants to extend this to all students interested in going to the USA for college.
Pravin Kamachee
Texas A&M University ’16
Pravin is a rising sophomore in Texas A&M University, who is planning to major in Petroleum Engineering and Chemistry. He was a participant in the 2011 Klang Valley Workshop, and from then on, he has been a part of this USAPPS family. USAPPS has helped Pravin achieve his dream to study in the US, and so he is back to inspire and encourage more Malaysian students. Through USAPPS, he has met some great friends who inspire and motivate him in many ways. This year, he aims to reach the students with a new perspective on the US education because after a year in college, he realized the remarkable quality of this system. He also believes that the college experience in America is totally priceless, so being involved in as many activities together with friends and getting good grades is essential to make the best out of the opportunity.
Farhan Lokman
University of California, Berkeley ’16
Farhan is a rising sophomore at UC Berkeley intending to major in Economics and Business Administration. He attended the USAPPS workshop in 2011 and continued to be involved with it since then. According to him, USAPPS has helped him to get through the arduous application period and enabled him to meet amazing people dedicated to help others. Farhan enjoys doing community service and is currently active with Cal Rotaract. You can also talk to him about sports all day every day because he’s really into it!
Carmen Khoo
Carnegie Mellon University ’16
Carmen is a rising sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity on campus where she gets the opportunity to be involved in various service events. She has been a USAPPS participant for two years and this is her second year as a facilitator. She absolutely enjoys what USAPPS has offered her – guidance, friendship and lots of teh tarik. On days when she is not pulling her hair out over codes, Carmen enjoys reading, hiking, running and of course, eating, which is what most Penangites do.
Keng Wah Loon
Lafayette College ’16
Of all his new experience in the U.S., Wah Loon was most delighted by the spirit of Liberal Arts–the absolute freedom so pursue knowledge and do things in whichever mixed directions. He went to Lafayette College wanting only to do Physics, but with the new-found freedom he discovers more that interest him–politics, calligraphy, music. College is very fun to him, mostly due to the informality in the U.S. He says, “How cool is U.S. education? You can drink coffee with your professors and still learn great stuff over a casual talk.”
Pavithran Nair
Carnegie Mellon University ’16
Pavithran Nair or Pav as his friends call him, is a rising sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University. He enjoys good food, interesting conversations and great company. Pav believes that everyone should have an amazing time at college or university and attending USAPPS has brought him one step closer to doing just that by providing specific guidelines throughout the application process. Pav was a USAPPS participant and facilitator in years 2011 and 2012 respectively. He is back this year as a co-organizer to share his experience with students who are interested to learn more about the American education experience. If you attend, he might even buy you mamak! He looks forward to seeing you there.