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This is the next segment of our blog series highlighting Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors who achieved the Gold milestone, the highest status level attainable, and have recently graduated from university. Each blog in the series features a different student and highlights their accomplishments, their experience with the Student Ambassador community, and what they’re up to now.
Today we meet Wei Song Teo, who is from Malaysia and recently graduated with honors from the Universiti Malaysia Pahang with a Bachelor of Computer Science in graphics and Multimedia Technologies.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
When you joined the Student Ambassador community in 2019, did you have specific goals you wanted to reach, such as developing a particular skill or quality?
My specific goals were to gain technical skills and then share the learnings back with other students and peers in my community. I also set out to improve my event planning and public speaking skills. By the end of the program, I did achieve the things I set out to do.
I felt great support from the Student Ambassador community. I found it very inspiring and motivating to see like-minded, passionate people that shared my interests, and it greatly motivated me to improve myself.
What were the accomplishments that you’re proudest of and why?
During my first year as a Student Ambassador, I co-hosted Microsoft Campus Day with other Student Ambassadors. During the event, I showcased GitHub Desktop as a tool for completing assignments. We also moderated a session and invited the program alumni to give a talk. This was the first time I hosted a physical event.
Another accomplishment I am proud of would be during my second year in the program, when I hosted five virtual workshops every 2-3 weeks, also acting as the main presenter. I remember during that time, my fellow students and I were staying home and doing online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were all bound to home and unable to attend physical workshops or events. I got the idea to host multiple virtual workshops after learning that as the pandemic spread around the world, Student Ambassadors were encouraged to host virtual events as opposed to networking in person. With that, I started research on what topics students might be interested in. Then I came up with five topics, most of them being about the version control software Git and other programming knowledge.
Out of all the virtual workshops I have hosted, the one that is most memorable was a “Crash Course on Git and GitHub” which had a lot of participants.
Wei Song Teo hosting ”Crash Course on Git and Github” virtual event.
The feedback from the workshop was positive, and I am happy that I was able to share this topic, as I believe it has helped a lot of students from my community to learn this technology.
Another accomplishment for me was achieving the Gold Milestone. I honestly did not expect this, and I feel very grateful and fortunate that my contributions to the community were recognized and I was nominated to be a Gold Student Ambassador.
What are you doing now that you’ve graduated?
For now, I am going to take a break to improve my technical skills and learn more about myself. After that, I plan to further my studies by joining the master’s degree program in computer science at Universiti Malaysia Pahang.
If you could redo your time as a Student Ambassador, is there anything you would have done differently?
If I could redo my time as a Student Ambassador, I would have planned my workshops better to give myself more time to prepare. Secondly, I would have tried to learn more about other technologies, even the ones that I have the least interest in.
If you were to describe the community to a student who is interested in joining, what would you say to convince them to join?
It is a community with like-minded people who are passionate about technology. By joining this program, it can help you learn and expose you to new technologies as you get to attend workshops hosted not only by your peers but also by professionals from the industry. Also, you do get cool swag kits!
What advice would you give to new Student Ambassadors?
Be willing to ask questions and even if you are shy, try to host a workshop at least once with you as the main presenter.
What is your motto in life, your guiding principle?
“Amor Fati,” meaning love of fate. Make use of everything you can, keep on learning, and always be grateful.
What is one random fact about you that few people are aware of?
I am a big rock and metal fan! My favorite bands that I enjoy currently are Radiohead, King Gizzard, and The Lizard Wizard! Additionally, I enjoy playing video games during my free time. One of the more memorable games that I have played is a role-playing game (RPG) called Divinity: Original Sin II. I highly recommend everyone give it a try!
Good luck to you in all your endeavors, Wei Song!
Readers, you can find Wei Song on LinkedIn.