By Foo Ming Li/photos provided by interviewee
Choosing the appropriate course or field of study is a tough decision to make for every student who is in their transitioning period from high school or secondary school to college. Some people would suggest taking a course that is related to one’s desired profession.
Yet, for Shuleen Koo, a former lawyer who was practising for almost a year decided to change her career path, and she became a radio deejay and producer at Ai FM. Her sudden decision shocked and troubled her parents.
Shuleen was the champion of speech and debate competitions like the 2006 National High School Chinese Poetry competition, 2009 National Chinese Inspirational Speech competition, and 2019 International English Toastmasters in Speech Preparation and Impromptu. She was the former President of eLawyer Toastmasters Club, and currently she is a certified speaker at the Malaysia Speakers Association
Reminiscing the early days of her life, her family suffered from financial difficulties as her father, who had a stroke, was dismissed from employment when she was only 10 years-old. Due to her family’s situation, Shuleen’s mother pressed the importance of education and advised her to concentrate on her studies in order to apply for a scholarship to further her studies without burdening the family with expensive university fees.
During her high school years, Shuleen participated in numerous debate and speech competitions, all of which were driven by her interest in the languages of Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and English. During her days at high school, her high school teachers motivated Shuleen to pursue her studies in law.
After graduating from high school, Shuleen applied for a scholarship to pursue Bachelor of Laws at the University of London and she was the only candidate to receive the scholarship.
“My family’s financial situation was not an obstacle for me and I looked for alternative methods to further my studies. Moreover, if I had not taken the scholarship, I would not have received the opportunity to further my studies,” she said
She began to work at a corporate law firm after completing her studies. She remembered that there was a court case involving a small business. Apparently, the business had used a well-known company’s brand on their phone cases without legal permission, which led to the court case.
Shuleen also worked as a legal advisor for Women’s Aid Organisation, a non-governmental organisation helping women and children who had been victims of domestic abuse by providing them shelter. She noticed that the victims had been severely abused by their significant others and it had been too late for them to take action to stop the abuse.
“I felt empathy for the victims when they would come to the organisation asking for legal action to be taken against their abusive partners when they were at the brink of breakdown due to the abuse suffered,” Shuleen said.
After working as a lawyer for a year, Shuleen decided to secretly apply for a role as a radio deejay at Ai FM. Her parents were nevertheless surprised and they were not on talking terms for a while because of her decision.
Eventually, her parents accepted the fact that she is working as a radio deejay, even though they initially demanded that she work as a lawyer for at least a year. She ignored this demand of theirs, and has persisted at being a radio deejay to prove to them she is capable of doing the job.
Shuleen said she has to spend a lot of time completing the task of writing news script, voice recording, and editing. She is not as experienced at the task, in comparison with her two co-workers who had studied mass communication.
“I need four hours to complete a task, compared to my two colleagues who joined the radio station at the same time as I did, and who can finish the task in two hours, primarily due to their understanding of the radio station procedures as they have a background in mass communication,” she said
She said her law education is helpful when she is hosting radio programs that discuss laws and regulations. She adds that being a radio deejay can help her messages stand out as she raises social and legal awareness among listeners.
Shuleen wishes that people would explore interests that are beyond their comfort zones during their pursuit of their studies or work opportunities.
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