William and Haziq Serve up Life Lessons at Culinary Classes

The culinary students of the Sunway University College School of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management (SHTLM) were pleasantly surprised when two special students joined them in class. They soon realized that there was more to life than studying.

William Lim, 20 and Mohd Haziq Mohd Izmi, 19, are special students at the SMK Bandar Sunway. The Sunway Group adopted SMK Bandar Sunway as part of its corporate social responsibility programme (CSR). William and Haziq were given the privilege to join the four month practical culinary and kitchen operations classes of the first year of the Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management programme at Sunway.

Both William and Haziq enjoy a tailored curriculum with a more vocational bent at their school which has a programme for students with learning disabilities. They are usually given work at the GOLD Street Café, a signature project by SMK Bandar Sunway which provides skills training for the learning disabled community.

William and Haziq were all eyes as chef instructor /lecturer Choong Siew Lee began to show the class how to make a selection of fettuccini, tagliatalle and angel hair pasta from flour. “William and Haziq had no problems picking up skills and they had a great sense of teamwork” said Choong.

“I really felt a glow of pride when I saw my students becoming more sensitive and attuned to William and Haziq in class” said Choong. “It is a part of their humanitarian education and encourages them to be more mature when they are given the opportunity to interact with the less able” she added. The two became well assimilated as the other students socialised with them during lunch and after class.

Asked how they found the classes, William replied “They were interesting and we made a lot of friends” to which Haziq concurred “We learnt a lot in class”

This initiative was part of the 6-month Job Placement Programme under the 3R Corporate Social Responsibility by the Sunway Group. Sunway University College took in the students for training before they were attached with the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa. Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director of Sunway University College said “We fully support the Group’s objective to equip intellectually challenged students with skills that they can use in the real world. This training experience is invaluable as it teaches them independence and self-confidence”.