Maybank Go Ahead Challenge 2014 - Campus Level

Why hello there~ 

Feels quite good to be able to sit in the library and catch up some with some blogging instead of flipping through papers and worrying about exam. Typing leisurely is apparently a blessing. On an irrelevant note, I am not sure is there a girl sitting in the corner talking on the phone or is there some sort of paranormal activity.. I refuse to walk over there and peep because well, if a human is there then I will look like some weirdo. But if it is not a human...... I WILL BE SCARED FOR LIFE (yes I am a total sacredly cat).

This is gonna be a buang balik (throwback) post! So allow me to bring you all the way back to..

May 2014

Just right before the premiere screening of The Amazing Spider Man 2, I  was busy typing madly on my phone to submit my entry for Maybank Go Ahead Challenge. I didn't really want to join it in the first place since I was worried that it will interfere with my studies. This is where peer pressure is actually good for you. Since I have friends joining and I have actually never joined a competition like this, I decided to screw exams and not miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. It's actually an annual competition but hey.. I will no longer be a student next year! Hence.. once in a lifetime for me! Applied for it here: http://www.goaheadchallenge.com just in case if any of you are curious.

About 2 days later, I received an e-mail notifying me that I qualified for the Online Quiz level. I think this is more like a pre-screening filter. We are given 48 hours to complete the task so it's like a push for people who procrastinate. There are 2 parts to the quiz: language and reasoning/ mathematics skills. It was a bit scary because there were quite a few questions to complete in only 15 minutes each. I was so close to finishing it but I wasted some time at the start of the quiz. Ya know.. nervous! Not knowing what to expect, my brain tend to load a bit slower. But I guess I did quite well because 2 weeks later I got an e-mail saying..

Congratulations, you are invited to join our Campus Level Challenge!

I was thrilled! Like hey.... this could be fun! Given that Monash had only a handful of participants, we joined the candidates from Sunway University for the Campus Level Challenge.

23rd May 2014

Reached Sunway early morning at 8am and I remember exactly why I choose Monash over Sunway. It is so easy to get lost here! It's like a mini Hogwarts with a gazillion stairs and bridges... Instantly got lost the moment I got down the car. It says East West building and I am this close to use a phone compass to find my way. Gahhh. Luckily I came across a  pillar with "East-West" written on it and I just took the closest stairs up 2 floors and found the venue! HOORAHHHH!  You have NO IDEA how it is an ACHIEVEMENT for someone who can't differentiate between left and right.

As per usual, there is a line for registration. Immediately after registration, we are given tee shirts to change into. Well I am quite glad we don't have to wear the formal shirt. It's so uncomfortable. Tee shirt is the way to go!

Hello hello yellow tee! 

There's a "Go Ahead Challenge" printed on it. In hindsight, I should've slept earlier the day before. But Sunway has this magical light that is somehow very nice for selfie. Skin looks fairer somehow.. 

Campus Level

So after the whole tee shirt changing thing, the auditorium started to fill up. It is a very different kind of auditorium compared to Monash. It is apparently the largest one in Sunway too. 

Setting up!

There are approximately 70 participants that day and there are less than 10 of us representing Monash. Oh and there is 1 really special student representing Nottingham! Of course, being the minority, we often got the "Oh you're from Monash?!" kind of reactions. 

Here's one with the girls! Aly, Winnie, Li Ying and Jiaway!

These people are super enthusiastic and have joined and won a lot of competitions like this one! And they are also the bunch I've spent 3 years with! How the heck does time pass by so quickly?

So we were chatting away, getting to know a few new people and SUDDENLY! The emcee greeted us with a energetic GOOD MORNING! I love the emcee! He lighted everyone's fighting spirit even though it is still quite early in the morning.

As expected, we were separated into groups based on the number on our tags. So I am grouped together with C6 to C10!

Meet Team 2! 

Task 1

After getting grouped into teams, we started to saying hi to each other and try to get to know each other better. Of course, to break the ice, out first task was Treasure Hunt! We were given a clue in an envelope and we are supposed to go from one spot to another to gather more clues. The guy on the left back, Henry; can run really really fast! For Chan and I, we had to solve the clue and ask our team mates for directions because as I said before, Sunway is really really a maze! We also had a time limit of 30minutes so it was a crazy adrenaline rush running around Sunway! In the end, we managed to find 7/8 clues which wasn't too bad. Oh here's the interesting part:

I ran around.... bare footed!

SO "running around bare footed in campus" CHECKED! (hehheh). Well I was wearing heels so there wasn't much of a choice. There's also a cameraman video-ing the whole process (ahaha)! I guess it'll be a piece of epic art work! 

Task 2

Now this is where your skills get brought out! Portfolio creation for a hypothetical investor. Some people thought the treasure hunt only served as an ice-breaking session but its not. Under each clue, there is a seemingly random finance thing like information for 25 stocks. So the amount of clues found for the treasure hunt affects the information received for this task. The crazy part is that we only have 15 minutes to analyse the investor's preferences, a long list of companies and the economic condition. We rushed though the analysis by pulling out and setting aside companies that we deem worthy to be part of our portfolio. Then we spontaneously presented our chosen portfolio and had to rely on critical thinking to answer the investor/judge's questions.

After we're done, we were waiting patiently outside while I slowly fill my head with the thought of food because THANK YOU TRAFFIC JAM, I skipped breakfast! The scheduled lunch was right after task 2 and followed by the first elimination. 

When the other teams are done, we are guided back to the auditorium. Yes GUIDED. So thankful for that because I don't know how they used all the side doors and little staircase to reach the "test room". But I think they just want us to avoid any contact with the other batches since the teams are going in batches.

30 minutes later

Unfortunately, we won't be getting our lunch just yet.... We will proceed to Task 3 instead. I wanted to feel sad. But my stomach just let out a loud growl instead so I guess the message got sent through.. 

Task 3

This time, we were paired up. I was paired up with Mandy who was standing on my right in the picture above. We were given 15 minutes to solve 2 mathematical and critical thinking questions. Much like the riddles from the middle of the newspaper. This was my favourite challenge because I LOVE RIDDLES LIKE THESE! 

We went in the room and the evaluator asked who would like to go first. I dislike the whole "you go first" kind of situation so I resorted to a fair and square rock, paper, scissors! Mandy went first and I was given another critical thinking question that was pretty interesting! I gave a super simplified answer and I left the room super early. There are 2 ushers who asked me what am I doing standing outside. They even reconfirmed to make sure that I have completed the task.

ANYWAY, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE IT'S LUNCH TIME!!!

Food!!!

Even though it is all cold, I still find it acceptable. Perhaps it was hungry talk but YUMZ! If this was served before Task 3 then we could have gotten some warm food. Lunch is another good time to mingle around and adding new friends on Facebook. Meeting new people is probably one of the best aspects of competitions like these.

Elimination #1

And right after feeding the pigs, they are sent to the slaughterhouse. From 70 of us, only 30 will continue the challenge. The evaluators took quite some time to sort everything out. There's so many of us and everyone has their own potential. I could only imagine how difficult it will be for them. It feels quite scary when they call us out one by one. After they call out 10, they called out "C9"... and THAT'S ME! That would mean that I survived the first cut! THRILLED!!! Standing on the stage and start to wish the best for the rest of the candidates, it was a really nerve wrecking experience. The eliminated candidates were given a certificate and the competition continues.

Task 4

Since most of our team mates have been eliminated, we will get grouped into new groups! This time, it is no longer numerical. I actually have no idea how they grouped us up but I guess they have some sort of method.

Team 3! 

Quite a diversified team. There's 2 from Sunway, 2 from Monash and 1 from Notthingham. Quite an interesting mash up! This team is way more aggressive than the 1st team. I got quite a cultural shock and tried my very best to keep up with them. 

Task 4 is to play a life sized board game. Kind of like Monopoly, but instead of buying the property you land on, different kinds of minigames like whistling the song to your team mates, drawing while blindfolded, taboo are played. We take turns to make guesses and performing as best as we could. Awkwardly got spotted by Carmen, a high school friend while I'm jumping around.. bare footed again. We did quite well and we finished first!

Task 5

The top three winning teams for the life sized board game gain an advantage in this round. Next, we proceed to a 45 minutes (I think) discussion to prepare for a debate. It was messy. Everyone had something to say and it was a screamfest from the discussion to the very last minute of the debate. I am super impressed with Lee Yan! She just took charge and organized everything well. She also presented our points quite well too. But debate is really not that fun when the 2 teams are so close to yelling at each other as if we're in a morning market. Everyone desperately wants to win so it is definitely not a surprise! 

By the time the debate ended, it is already 6pm. Most of us are so exhausted we just sat around and did some mingling. Chatted with the previous winners from the challenge and ohhh how I envy them! I wanna be in their shoes some day.

Elimination #2

The evaluators only finished deciding on the top 16 around 7:30pm. They actually wanted to trim us to the top 10 but they have decided to let more of us in at the end. Chan was the first to get called and that's so exciting! As more names are getting called, I thought all my chances are gone. I was taking photographs when suddenly...

C........................................................................................9

I was in shock and I think it is really evident  from my face as Mr Chen handed me my certificate, he asked me to look closely: "It's your name right?" All I can do was nod like an idiot. It feels so surreal and I was so happy. Along with the certificate, I got another tee shirt (in bright orange) that is like my ticket to the National Levels! Other than Chan and I, Winnie also got through! When the top 16 was chosen, we took some pictures on stage and some promo clips that are yet to be released.

Didn't manage to take a picture of us on stage,

but here's one with Winnie, Dayang and Mr Chen

Ran out of energy after that. Managed to grab a few quick bites and went home to crash! Of course I spent some time telling my mom what happened for the whole day. She seems happier than I am. By that time it was already 11pm and my system was slowly slowly shutting down. 

Quite proud of myself! Praying hard that I can go to the Grand Finals! *pray*

I didn't study that day, but I gained more than ever.

Its this type of adrenaline gets people addicted.

I wish I can proceed further because it is so rewarding.

"See you at the Nationals!

Okay, this post turned out lengthy! Oopsie! Luckily I recorded this in my Dayre. If not I probably have problem remembering the whole thing!

Bye bye now~