There was a sense of dread when I found out that my only option was to transfer to ‘the other HELP campus’ in Klang. For one, Klang is extremely far away. In fact, it still is. For another, I had no idea what I would be in for.
The first time I arrived at HICT, I thought “Dude, it’s in a shopping mall?”, and I had the hardest time finding the entrance to the college. I kept ending up in the parking lot. Of course, that is mostly because I have a bad sense of direction and I couldn’t seem to understand what people were trying to tell me. When I finally entered the building, I was genuinely afraid.
I had previously spoken to the Head of Department, and he had been very helpful with the things I needed for my transfer, and so, that was exactly what I did. I transferred.
I did not expect that the first day of classes would have me mostly getting lost, going around in circles and having to double back to ask a random stranger to lead me to the ADP office. However, the 3 students sitting by the marketing office were very helpful. I found my way and now I can say I know the place like the back of my hand.
Fun fact: HELP International College of Technology (HICT) will no longer be known as such. It is now going to be known as HELP College of Arts and Technology (HELP CAT).
The campus is located on the 5th floor of the Klang Parade; a shopping mall on Jalan Meru. It is home to a few departments who cater to students that do not plan on transferring overseas but still want to get a degree from a recognized university from a different country. The ADP department in HELP CAT, Klang, is in collaboration with Southern New Hampshire University in the USA. The program allows students to do a 4+0 in BSc (Business) offering majors such as International Business, Business Administration and Marketing. However, students are still free to transfer to SNHU in their final year or do their final 2 years in other US/Canadian Universities if they decide to.
My initial observation of the Klang campus was “Whoa, they have a pretty cool library”, and it became my favourite place to hang out. Their library has 2 levels, many tables, and the sunlight shines through the ceiling. From the library, you can see students playing table tennis to pass the time. Despite that, the place always looks a little empty to me. It is quiet and one can barely see students roaming the hallways.
The college is going to relocate to a new campus in Fraser’s Business Park, Sungai Besi in April 2011. Due to that, in-college activities have been minimal, but as soon as the new campus opens up and everyone settles in, there will be many activities all you people out there should gear up for. Things are being planned even as you read this.
HELP CAT has a system where the ADP Student Council works under an entity known as US Mart. The US Mart plans activities for the students. Elections were recently held and Tan I Ning, also a transfer from HELP University College was made president! Yay us!
The lecturers in HELP CAT are very hardworking and very good at their field of expertise. Although every lecturer has their own personal quirk and like things done a certain way, they always try to adjust their teaching styles to the students needs.
For more info, visit www.helpcat.edu.my or look up the HELP CAT Facebook page and click ‘Like’.
Written by Trisha Teo
~American Flyer - Spring 2011 Edition~
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