It is a commitment she developed during her university days, when she needed to maintain first-class honours every semester as a Star Education Fund (SEF) scholar.
The pressure to sustain a “first-class” result while pursuing a multimedia degree at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) was intense, but she said it taught her discipline, resilience, and how to perform under pressure.
“Every semester, when I sent my results back, it wasn’t just a transcript,” she recalled. “It felt like proving that their investment in me was worth it.”
That dedication has stayed with her long after graduation.
In her various roles at Star Media Group (SMG), where she began her career as part of her scholarship bond, Chow has consistently pushed herself beyond her comfort zone.
Although her degree was in multimedia, she started in web development – a field she believed represented the future of digital media.
Her colleagues helped bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world practice but over time, her curiosity grew beyond coding. She wanted to understand the broader purpose behind digital products – not just how they were built, but why they existed.
That interest propelled her into project management and eventually product management.
Today, the 40-year-old serves as assistant general manager in the Product and Innovation Department, overseeing the English Product Vertical and guiding the digital evolution of the newspaper – a role that, in many ways, brings her journey full circle.
She believes adaptability is key.
“Don’t worry if your first job doesn’t perfectly match your degree,” she said. “What matters is having a teachable spirit. Your life-changing opportunity might be sitting right there in the morning paper.”
For students facing financial constraints, Chow’s principle is never give up, as opportunities often appear unexpectedly.
Growing up in a modest household in Melaka, higher education was always her dream even though financial resources were limited, with her shop assistant father as the sole breadwinner.
After scoring a perfect 4.0 in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, she enrolled at UUM with a National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan.
The turning point came when her mother noticed an advertisement for the SEF in the newspaper. By coincidence, the scholarship specifically listed her university and course among the eligible programmes.
“It felt like a sign,” she said. “I applied without really knowing it would change my entire trajectory.”
The scholarship interview left a lasting impression. The then SMG chief executive officer Datin Linda Ngiam asked whether she would eventually start her own business after learning everything she could.
Chow answered candidly: “I wasn’t interested in the ‘business’ of running a company. I just wanted to be a great programmer and focus on the work I loved.”
That focus on mastering her craft set the course for her journey, and she has never looked back since.
This feature is part of a series highlighting beneficiaries of the Star Education Fund (SEF), in celebration of Star Media Group’s 55th anniversary. Since its inception in 1994, the SEF has benefited 4,601 scholarship recipients, with a total value of RM176 mil. Applications for the 2026 edition are now open at https://www.thestar.com.my/edufund. For enquiries, email edufund@thestar.com.my or call 03‑7967 1388 ext 1466.
