For the longest time, I doubted myself, - Izza, Chevening Scholar

The first three words of the email, “We are delighted..” shook the Izelan household.

Her mother came running to her room reprimanding her for shouting but when she answered with “I got it! I got it!”, they were all moved to tears of joy.

As much as Izza Izelan would like to remember that fond memory as the start of her journey as a Chevening scholar, that is certainly not the case.

“If you want something, sacrifices and efforts must be put in. Just remember, nothing is free,” said the broadcast journalist currently attached with Astro AWANI.

Juggling between working morning shifts and completing her five essays to fulfill the requirements in the application, this resident bilingual news anchor at the TV station had her hands full as she dedicated herself to the essays for an entire week.

“Doubt and fear. Those are the biggest challenges. For the longest time, I had doubt and fear. I questioned if I were good enough.

"50,000 applicants came from all over the world and going against them, I had no expectations. All I know was I wanted to push myself, I wanted to test my own abilities. So I overcame the doubt.

“Fear of failing was the other challenge I faced. I knew there was a big chance that I won’t get it. How would I see myself then? Would I hate myself for not being good enough? Would I have a lower self-esteem?”

The 29 year-old avid educator and learner was shortlisted for three prestigious universities in the United Kingdom and decided to pursue Master's degree (MA) in Education & International Development at the Institute of Education (IOE) at University College London (UCL) - the number one education faculty in the world - in September this year.

Only 44 local professionals were chosen from the entire nation and what made Izza outstanding was her career thus far.

“I think, how I stood out to be one of the chosen ones, is my career. My whole career has been colourful. I have been in various sectors - education, market research, advertising and now broadcasting.

“I must give a big credit to my work here at Awani because Astro AWANI is not like any other news channel in the region. We are all survivors here.

"When I wrote my essays, I drew examples from real life experiences, from case studies of the people I interviewed and from my special reports," Izza explained.

The pushing factor for her to choose UCL is the two weeks placement with United Nations (UN) in Paris by the end of her academic year.

During this period, students would be introduced to the work of key international organisations in education and development such as UNESCO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“I have a deeper sense of purpose. The reason why I applied for this was because I really did want to make a change.

"As a journalist, we write about things and that is already doing something. But I wanted to do more. That was when I started realising that I had to do something about it.

“With this Master's that I am about to pursue, I hope to improve the education system not just in Malaysia, but also around the world.

"I aim to focus on education for refugees. Education is the root to everything. The classroom is not just confined within these four walls. The classroom is the world.

“I would take another multi-cultured country as a benchmark, and do a comparison. And learn from what they can offer to create smarter youths. I believe everything starts from the young. I am thinking of the future.”

When asked if she had any advice for the youngsters, she said, “You can do it. Don’t ever doubt yourself. Don’t be afraid to take a step back to look at yourself and keep yourself in check. Live life fearlessly and have fun.”

Asked what is it that she was looking up to, she said it is not so much the Tower Bridge, Big Ben or perhaps the Oxford Street.

But, it is the red double-decker buses in the streets of the capital, as she remembered vividly from a family trip when she was only 9, that she is keen to go back to.

Ending the interview, she thanked some special people in her life.

“I would also like to thank my supportive parents and family. To the CEO of Astro AWANI, Suhaimi Sulaiman, thank you for believing in me when nobody did.

"And to the people in Astro AWANI, who have taught me to be matured and help me develop this survival skills. If it weren’t for them, I would not be where I am today,” she said.

The Chevening award is the UK government’s global scholarship programme offered by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Successful scholars will be setting out for UK as early as September this year to pursue a wide range of Master’s programmes at top UK universities, with the aim of returning to Malaysia to make a compelling contribution in the public policy, human rights and law, media and education, economics, science and engineering sectors.