Nurturing the next generation
What makes a community? By definition, it is ‘a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common’. You could say it is the population, geographical location, beliefs and such. But what makes a community sustainable and strong? It is the people. While the vision may begin with the leader, it is with the contribution of each person in the community that would make it a sustainable one. An ecosystem where people feel safe, inclusive, have a sense of belonging and contributes to the continuous growth of their own community. An advocate for this cycle or circle of contributing is Zohrab Chong Aik Shuen, Sunway-Monash Twinning Programme alumnus. It was the year 1990 and Zohrab began his studies with Sunway College - when everything was fairly new. Zohrab wanted to pursue a double degree in Australia, and Sunway was the pioneer in partnering with a reputable university overseas.
As the programme was new and small, Zohrab only had two full time lecturers who made sure to drill their students well enough to get them to advance to Australia. He recalls his time with Mrs Lim Tiew Ming who just retired recently. She made learning fun, was always jovial and they created a bond through the Hokkien dialect. A mother figure to the students, Zohrab would still keep in touch and meet up with Mrs Lim at alumni gatherings and whenever he visited the campus. The other person whom Zohrab connected well with was Ms Lee Siok Ping, currently the Director of Student LIFE, Sunway University. Zohrab was serving in the Student Council which enabled him to work closely with the Student Services Department (now known as Student LIFE). As the advisor of the Student Council, Ms Lee was often involved and provided valuable input on the events and activities the council was planning.
As Zohrab progressed to Monash University, Australia, he founded the Sunway-Monash Programme student club. It was the first Sunway club to be registered and funded by the university itself. As students moved to Australia in their second year, they did not receive any orientations and had to find their way on their own. Hence the purpose of the club. They assisted by organising dedicated orientations for new Sunway-Monash students to help show them around for Asian groceries, food, transport, housing and books. Zohrab also served with the Monash University International Student Service where he met various people from the Chancellor to other international students. It was through all these experiences and encounters that gave Zohrab the confidence, ability and capability which has transferred to today. This also influenced his spirit of giving back to society and nurturing the next generation.
Zohrab began mentoring since his university days and has not stopped. In his previous career, he was first a mentee and then served as a mentor to young high potential talents in guiding them through their career. He was also leading the Young Managers Think Tank of the General Insurance Association for four years with the aim to promote and grow the careers of young managers. Zohrab is also currently volunteering as a mentor under the Sunway Mentoring Programme, an initiative by the Alumni Relations team. The programme, which began in 2013 with only 9 pairs of mentors and mentees, connects Sunway students with experienced alumni to support the students’ professional growth. Zohrab, who has been a mentor for three years, is now part of a cohort of 150 mentors in 2022. Apart from guiding people and their careers, Zohrab has also served in his township residents’ association since 2012. He took on various roles from committee member, Deputy President and President which focused on community wellbeing, security and harmony. Together with the association, he led the digital transformation journey to create awareness of the COVID-19 situation, a food bank initiative as well as a community garden space for the residents and more.
Deciding to move away from the corporate world, Zohrab founded an HR and People Development advisory company, Enablerz Consulting and Solution, in May 2019. Zohrab believes that human beings make the whole world work and to make the world a better place, we need people who are better so that each generation improves. Hence the birth of the company which focuses on corporate culture, performance management, learning, talent and succession management processes. The company also provides various trainings, coaching and mentoring services and acts as a one stop solution provider for their customers.
At home, Zohrab is a proud father and mentor to his son, Zehan Chong Eng Ren, who is also a graduate from Sunway University under the BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Studies programme. Mentoring his son, his juniors at his alma mater, and from various universities and corporate employees, Zohrab gets his satisfaction from seeing the people achieve their own success.
