M’sian Ex-Dropout Graduated With First-Class Hons & Paid For Parents’ Flight With Part-Time Cleaning Job

I‘m sure you’ve clicked on this headline in hope to inspire and motivate your lazy self. Well, just like you, we all hope to be at least half as successful as him.

But first, we all gotta learn to be at least half as hardworking as him.

Top Graduate at the University of Essex 

If you search up the definition of hardworking, you will see this Malaysian kampung boy popping up on your google search. Known as Mohammad Afiq Ismail, he is a top graduate at the University of Essex.

What is so special about his success story is that he not only earned himself a scholarship to study in the UK but also used his earnings from his part-time job, as a cleaner, to pay for his parent’s first flight aboard.

So he is not only hardworking but also filial to his parents. Girls, time to queue up for him. This man is a keeper.

A Hard Start

However, just like any other success story, Afiq did experience hardships and setbacks at the start.

He wasn’t always a top student. In fact, he was kicked out of school as a child due to his low scores in his PMR, a public examination in Malaysia. He had to miss school for a month due to the rejection of his applications in all the schools near his area.

His mother, concerned like any other Asian parent, resorted to visiting the state education department to plead with the director in order to send him to a good high school.

Determination

Afiq eventually ended up in accounting with his bad grades. Remaining undeterred and determined to finish his education, he worked doubly hard.

Despite his old classmates looking down on him, he never failed to dedicate his time to studies to prove them wrong.

His hard work paid off when he did well in his national exam and even received a JPA scholarship to study in the UK. Way to go, Afiq! He most certainly deserved it.

But wait, won’t his school fees be expensive? Definitely.

Making Ends Meet

To make ends meet, Afiq took up a part-time job as a cleaner under a Student Union. He had to wake up as early as 4:00 a.m. to work. With this work ethic, it is no wonder he isn’t afraid of hard work.

Thanks to his dedication and perseverance, he was able to then raise money to buy flight tickets for his parents to fly to the UK.

Furthermore, it was his parents’ first time overseas. Heck, they even got the chance to witness their son’s graduation.

And not just any graduation. He graduated with First Class Honours at the University of Essex.

I’m not crying, you are.

Coming from just a kampong boy with a humble background to achieve where he got to today is truly a quest of determination, hard work and dedication.

It is definitely not an easy feat to achieve all on his own. Afiq credits his parents for their unwavering support and believed that he won’t be where he is today without them.

Fellows, here is a good reminder to thank your parents for their support, love and encouragement all these years! We honestly won’t be where we are without them.

But of course, you have to be as hardworking as Afiq lah. If you can wake up at 4:00 a.m. instead of sleeping at 4:00 a.m., then you’re halfway there le.