Picture: Sotheary Kong at the Women in Asia Conference at UNSW, Sydney.

Sotheary Kong: The path that lead to many more opportunities

Since I was young, I had a dream to study overseas. Australia Awards Scholarships made that dream come true. I graduated from RMIT University in December 2019 with a Master degree in Professional Accounting. Now, I work as the Chief Financial Officer at a private company that specialises in office space rental.

However, as the saying goes, there is no rose without thorns. I struggled many times in Australia. During the first few months living in Melbourne, I lost count of how many times I couldn’t find my way around the city. After I finally settled, my stress levels soon increased due to the high academic load.

It was all worth the effort. I acquired a variety of skills from my course, including planning and writing a business proposal in the era of disruptive technology. I also managed to secure an internship with an Australian company that gave me the opportunity to discover a new interest in the stock market.

During one of my lectures, I approached an experienced Portfolio Manager who was the guest speaker. I sent him an introduction email to express my interest for an internship in his company.

I was introduced to other colleagues who didn’t hesitate to assist and share information with me. I gained practical skills to evaluate companies’ stock value and performance while improving my soft skills such as critical thinking and professional communication. I had a wonderful time and the internship experience has been so valuable especially now that I am involved in preparing the company in which I work to register on the Cambodian stock market.

I also volunteered at several organisations including North Richmond Community Health and Melbourne City Mission. I believe such involvement in these organisations was a good way to give back to the community in which I lived. It is also a great way to integrate, meet and communicate with Australian people through my community work.

I was keen to seize any opportunity that was available including on-award activities organised by Australia Awards Cambodia. I attended several workshops and conferences such as Women in Leadership in Canberra, Women in Asia Conference in Sydney, and the LIVE projects in Melbourne.

I thank the Australian Government and Australia Awards Cambodia for making my dream come true. I encourage future scholarship applicants to keep your dream alive and take action. Be confident and well prepared for future cycles of scholarship intakes. Extensive research can make a difference in making your application stronger.

Australia Awards

Post graduate learning opportunities for Cambodia’s future leaders