Bio
Details: 19, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Imperial Course: BSc Biochemistry
Previous Education: Malaysian STPM (General Studies, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology)
Clubs and societies: IQ (LGBTQ+ society), Volleyball, Malaysian Society
Volunteer role: Sexpression
Tags: Overseas, UG, FoNS, Life Sci, LGBTQ+
Motivations and Frustrations
Motivations
Ahmir came to Imperial because he wanted to study in the UK as both of his older siblings had. Having grown up in a country with legal restriction on the LGBTQ+ community coming to visit his brother in London made him feel like he could explore his identity more in the UK. He would like to stay in the UK and move into some sort of business focussed role. At Imperial being involved in societies has helped him settle in and he hopes to be part of some committees in the future.
Frustrations
Despite having studied English as a compulsory subject, he took his exams in Malay and struggles with relating what he was taught in the STPM to the English maths curriculum in his department. This has led to feelings of inadequacy and homesickness as he feels more out of place. He’s hoping to use the maths catalogue to overcome the language barriers he has encountered and feel more at ease within his course.
Ahmir's Stories
Ahmir is a first-year studying Biochemistry. He did really well in his Malaysian school exams, but he studied in Malay so even though he knows many of the concepts that are being taught he is not confident when translating them to English. His course does not have a maths module, but a lot of maths concepts are important to many of the modules that he is studying. The Introductory Maths Catalogue is really useful for him because it helps him to match up what he knows to what he is studying. The section on ‘maths for biological sciences’ helps him plan for his modules and keep on top of his workload.