IMU Psychology Alumnus Works with Youths

Psychology alumnus, Archana Divi Chandra Mohan Pillai graduated with her degree from International Medical University (IMU) in September 2013 and is currently working as a Capacity Building Officer at the Global Peace Foundation (Malaysia). Among her recent achievements were being the Recipient of Gawad ASEANO Award 2015, a youth leadership award in South-East Asia the ASEAN Youth Leaders’ Association in recognition of works related to youth leadership development; being a youth participant and co-organising member of Asia-Pacific Forum on Youth Volunteering to Promote Participation, Development and Peace at United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok 2014; and organising A Walk In The Park, Klang, Malaysia, 2014, a multi-faith walk with the objective to nurture harmony in a multi-faith nation. She tells her journey to where she is today. “Parents are definitely the number one factor for raising me to appreciate humanistic values by practice from young, leading me to be the person I am today. With that, I believe that I am blessed to have found the sweet spot most might be still looking for, an integrative life we are known to seek in life. A way of life having identified one’s core, an intersection of passion, purpose and skills. Passion for peace, happiness and helping people in their life’s journey. These are the few of the many reasons that guided me to take up the Bachelor (Hons) Psychology at the International Medical University (IMU). The psychology programme in IMU is a course that covers an overall spectrum of psychology. For someone who is looking for a holistic learning experience, here in IMU, the small classes with wider attention given to students will definitely be an option to consider.

IMU as an institution is definitely credible, professional and an institution with integrity. It is not just a tertiary educational institution but an institution that nurtures young professionals with moral and ethics. This is crucial in advancing humanity with integrity and empathy. Exactly what the world needs more of.

My experiences out of the classroom, such as being part of the IMU Student Ambassadors, IMU Eco Friends Club and Chariofare has been one of the most memorable times in my life.

There are people that you will meet long your life that will have an impact on you, there are lessons you will learn from them that will contribute to who you are right now. Having been part of a larger ecosystem in IMU, I am grateful to have had and still have some of them to inspire me. To acknowledge a few, Prof Ong Kok Hai – the very humble, charitable and knowledgable man who always highlights community service as part of life, Provost, Dr Mei Ling Young – the charismatic, poise and wise leader, Carina Lai – the Counsellor and mentor, Alexius Cheang – the rationally optimistic lecturer, whom everyone just adored, and who could forget the ladies at the Student Services, some more likely to be called friends.

IMU as an educational institution is surely a platform to not only produce academically outstanding students but leaders of the society. There is much potential to where the institution could grow in nurturing more students of integrity with a social cause and integrated life. Graduating in September, 2013, with an interesting twist of fate, in Semester 5 of my six semesters, I landed a job in an upcoming wellness centre in Kuala Lumpur with a promising job in the neurofeedback area. Least did know that I would be morally challenged to pick between a charming and intriguing job with a handsome first pay and personal values and ethics. Thanks to my personal values, with a then crushed spirit, I asked myself of the things that held meaning to me. Google came to aid. With a couple of searches, I landed on the Global Peace Foundation (Malaysia) website. One thing led to another, I knew this is where I had to be. This new journey is where my pursuit to making peace possible began. Briefly, the Global Peace Foundation is an international non-profit organisation that is committed to actualise a harmonious world with 3 core pillars of interfaith, family and service through sustainable peace-building efforts. We advocate and inculcate a culture of altruistic love through sustainable engagements with youth and various grassroot communities with the focus on youth development transforming the education culture. The Malaysian Chapter Office is located in Kelana Jaya, PJ. One of our signature programme under the youth focus is the Global Peace Volunteers (GPV), of which two selected IMU Student Ambassadors were part of. Related stories: An Amazing Experience at Global Peace Volunteer Camp: An IMU Student’s Perspective A Life Changing Experience for IMU Student at Global Peace Volunteer Camp

Being the Capacity Building Officer at the Global Peace Foundation (Malaysia), I look into the human resources aspect of the organisation (involving the recruitment of new employees or interns) as well as organisational development. Besides that, I am also part of the youth development team where we work on nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. It is surely a supportive mechanism of work, play and life as the Global Peace environment not only is a place where I contribute as a team player but learn and grow as a person in a family as well.

Where do I go from here? Paving a path in the unchartered waters. Destiny is something I believe that each and everyone of us are responsible of crafting our own. For me, I am definitely looking forward to refine my skills and knowledge in psychology in ways that would not just benefit myself but others as well by service.”