In the middle of September, Asia-Pacific was blessed to be given opportunities to promote Adventist higher education and our University in Sabah, Malaysia. Sabah is the state where many of our current Malaysian students and alumni are from.
In the first event, Mrs Deanna Beryl Majilang, Communications & Public Relations officer, promoted the University in the state-wide Adventist convention for Pastors, Elders, Shepherdess, Deacons and Deaconess. “The kind of exposure we had were truly unbelievable, as there were pastors, church members and parents who attended from all over Sabah,” commented Mrs Deanna.
In the presentation, Mrs Deanna was also translated by Pastor Helmy Hazel Baleh, Applied Theology alumni and former Student Council president. “The presentation is more powerful when we have alumni presenting about our Adventist institution,” added Mrs Deanna, who is an alumna herself.
As a result, a good number of interested parents, church members and pastors dropped by the booth to ask for more information. Some pastors also carried our University brochures to bring back to their churches.
What made the visitation especially memorable were meeting alumni who came from different generations and legacy institutions, such as Southeast Asia Union College and Mission College. Mrs Deanna mentioned that there were some alumni that she hasn’t seen since they graduated from Muak Lek campus. “It was so heartwarming to catch up with them, and to see their children have grown,” she added.
In the second event, Mrs Deanna spoke to about 200 high school students in the Sabah Adventist Secondary School (SASS) in two different days. The SASS students were very excited when they saw pictures and videos of their seniors who are presently studying at Asia-Pacific. “These students look up to their seniors a lot. Seeing them choosing to pursue Adventist education in Thailand encourages them to consider studying at Asia-Pacific after they finish high school,” commented Mrs Deanna.
During the visitation, Mrs Deanna also paid a courtesy call to Pastor Nelson Bendah, Sabah Mission President, at the mission headquarters. Mrs Deanna shared that it was a fruitful meeting. “It was good to catch up with Pastor Nelson, and share updates of our University.”
Asia-Pacific looks forward to make more promotion and visitations to our Southeast Asia Union mission territories in the near future.