Dream team: (From left) Kiran, Arivananthan, Rogers, Patricia, Emmanuel and Hari proudly showing one another their scrolls after their convocation ceremony at UTM in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
Close-knit bunch defies age, distance to complete masters
JOHOR BARU: A family of four and their two best friends have proven that distance and differing backgrounds are no obstacle in achieving their dreams when they completed their masters’ degrees together.
Operations manager William Rogers, his siblings Reubem Emmanuel, 45, Patricia Naidu, 46, and her husband Kiran Kumar, 45, as well as Arivananthan Arumugan and Hari Krishna, both 46, have always been a close-knit bunch.
Last year, they set a challenge for themselves that tested their commitment: to complete the Masters of Business Administration course at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) lifelong learning branch together.
“We were keen to upgrade ourselves despite already having years of working experience under our belts,” said Rogers, 51.
“The six of us work in different fields from aviation to education and live in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Johor and Singapore.
“Initially there was some hesitation due to our respective personal and work commitments and our ages.
“After motivating each other, we decided to jump right into it and push ourselves,” he told The Star at their convocation ceremony at the UTM (Skudai) campus here.
Their diverse professional backgrounds and mutual encouragement played crucial roles in their success, said Rogers.
Although they stayed in different locations, the group managed to coordinate online study sessions on weekends and late nights. They also found time to meet to discuss assignments.
“We also used each other’s strength to our advantage. Hari, who works as production supervisor, has superb organisational skills so he kept us on track for our assignments,” said Rogers.
“My sister Patricia’s experience as a businesswoman in the education sector added depth to our learning.
“If one of us was struggling, we would step in to encourage and motivate each other.
“Arivananthan and Hari are more than just our best friends; we see each other as family and the bond helped us overcome every obstacle.
“This course not only helped us gain knowledge – it also helped to strengthen ties among us, which makes this postgraduate degree that much more meaningful.”
The father of two hoped that their efforts would also set an example for their children and other family members to always be hungry for knowledge.
To add to their achievement, the six also received a medal each for making it into the Dean’s List award for their excellent results.
The group’s course coordinator Dr Elilen Chandra said that the group’s achievements reflected their hard work and perseverance as it was tough to juggle full-time work, family time and studies.
“The course encompasses law, finance and human resources management subjects, so it is quite extensive. They managed to complete it within a year.
“I wish them all the best and hope they consider pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration to continue their lifelong learning journey,” he added.
