Nick Vujicic spoke to the Sunway student community

Motivational speaker extraordinaire, Nick Vujicic attracted an audience of 5,000 people to his first public talk in Malaysia at Sunway University campus recently. The talk was primarily organised for students of Sunway Education Group particularly Sunway University and Monash University, Sunway campus, with limited passes for the public. The registration to the public opened on first-come-first-served basis via online registration with no entrance fee. The registration site went live at 8pm on 17 May 2013 and the free tickets were all taken up within 45 minutes.

The talk was sponsored by Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and Sunway University as part of their effort to bring in top international speakers on Malaysian soil. Sunway University is already known for 8 years, as the host of the Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Distinguished Speakers Series, which organises talks at the campus for free.

 

Due to the strong interest in Vujicic, an influential speaker, who was born without limbs, the talk was beamed live to 21 halls, classrooms and lecture theatres on the campus, to allow as many people to watch him talk. The biggest hall on campus where Vujicic was speaking in accommodated 1,500 of which more than a thousand were Sunway students. The talk was also telecast live to Sunway International School, Monash University Malaysia, Sunway College Johor Bahru and Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.

During his talk he made the crowd at the hall gasp, laugh and cry with his stories of hope, love and faith. Vujicic said every country has a lot of needs but rather than waiting for someone to help, we need to be the first people to help our own people. He also said that it was very important to love oneself and then love others while helping to inspire as well as change the lives of others.

Vujicic, who was born in Australia, captured world’s attention with his determination to take control of his life, by asking what he can do with his disabilities instead of lamenting on his disability. With that thought in mind, Vujicic mastered the life skills of an able-bodied person to lead his life just like any other person.

The winners of the Sunway University slogan contest with Nick

Vujicic confronted the challenges he faced in school and adolescence and finds the companionship of God to help him overcome the situation. The loneliness and depression he experienced growing up as a child were under control since then. Despite his limitations, Vujicic leads a very normal life. He is a musician, actor, and his hobbies include fishing, painting and swimming. He also has a book to his name, ‘Life Without Limbs’, which was published in in 2005.

Vujicic embarked on his first speaking engagement at the age 19. Since then he has travelled around the world, sharing his story with millions, sometimes in stadiums filled to capacity, speaking to a range of diverse groups such as students, teachers, young people and business professionals.

Senior Executive Director of Sunway University and Sunway Education Group, Elizabeth Lee said in her opening speech, “I feel so blessed being here this morning, so blessed to be in the same room as Nick Vujicic, so blessed to be able to feel the electricity from the audience in the hall. Nick, even before you speak, you have filled this room with so many individuals who admire and love you so much.

“We all have our own life challenges. They are nothing compared to Nick’s. He’s been empowered by God to be in charge of his own life and he uses it to the fullest“. Lee also expressed her appreciation to Vujicic for squeezing his time in this region to make a very quick stop in Malaysia to give a talk here. “Response from the students and staff has been tremendous and they join me in thanking Nick for choosing to come to Sunway.”

20 students, earlier, had the privilege to meet Vujicic in person. They were finalists of the Sunway University Facebook slogan contest conducted early May and ended on 16 May 2013.