Fading Star?

Is the Star Education Fair 2009 losing its luster? Last weekend (January 10 & 11), I was on duty at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, and it seemed to me that the crowds have thinned significantly. Last year, it was reported that 70,000 visitors came to this Education Fair at the same venue, but I don’t think this year, the number will even touch 50,000. Still, HICT have its small legion of fans, and we counseled and marketed our programs with a big dosage of passionate fervor. By the looks of it, I believe there will be at least 6-8 students who will enroll into the ADP this April 2009 – not bad for 2 days’ work, methinks. I must also salute the 6 ADP students who volunteered to help out – that’s right, they all freely volunteered. Wei Wei, Ivan, Brandon, Wai How, Jacklyn, and Chern Yang – I believe their presence helped because when they shared their own ADP experiences with prospective students and their parents, they made the program seem very personal and authentic. In fact, there was this Kuantan family who remarked that my students who are all only first year students (i.e. freshmen) seemed confident and self-assured. Now that’s a legitimate compliment, and speaks well of the SNHU program, the college, and of course, these students themselves. Verily, I am proud of them. Now, with a bit of luck, we might see this Kuantan family send their daughter and son (SPTM) to enroll into the same 4+0 SNHU degree program. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Owais and/or Rymond can do the necessary follow-ups. Still, it was a difficult 2 days for me because I was suffering from severe throat inflammation that was equally discomforting and distressing. Poor me - many a time, I squeaked, whimpered, and squealed.

There was football action too. Arsenal at least managed to win its game (by beating Bolton 1-0; the solitary goal coming from Bendtner in the 84th minute), while Liverpool produced a colorless display by being held to a scoreless draw by Stoke. And Man U did everyone a favor by demolishing Chelsea 3-0 because this means that the latter’s title race may just peter out. More importantly, it provides some breathing space for table-toppers, Liverpool since Chelsea was too close for comfort. But then again, so is Man U now, especially with 2 games in hand. Liverpool, better watch out!