Meet En Yu Yap- Director Of Partnerships at the CVT
En Yu Yap has lived all across the globe. After growing up in the modern metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Yap moved to Basel, Switzerland at age 12. After graduating from the IB Diploma Program at Switzerland’s International School of Basel, En Yu Yap is currently awaiting her transition from high school to college life. She will be attending the University of Hong Kong in the fall, majoring in Chemistry.
Yap is an original member of the Coronavirus Visualization Team; she joined the organization when it first started over a year ago. The start of remote learning gave Yap more free time to pursue her intellectual interests, and thus she searched for a virtual student organization that could offer her skill development. After coming across the CVT’s message — the idea that students can come together and contribute to scientific research — Yap was intrigued and prompted to join the organization’s initiatives.
From there, she took off.
As the Director of Partnerships, Yap works directly with the Executive Director, Yogya Kalra, to meet with potential partners and pitch the benefits of partnering with CVT. Above all, Yap proposes potential partners that address CVT’s needs, and she maintains good relationships with CVT’s established partner organizations.
Through her role, Yap has gained an incredible amount of exposure to scientific research and professional communication.
“Besides the technical skills relating to visualization, I learn the most about professional communication in the workplace,” remarks Yap. “In school, we are exposed to familiar faces: classmates, teachers, school personnel. We do not get much experience communicating extensively and formally with a stranger. As the Director of Partnerships in CVT, I quickly learn about each organization and its representatives and identify how we can mutually benefit from the partnerships. Then, I have to maintain a sustainable relationship between us through constant communication. This experience is not commonly accessible for a typical high schooler, so I’m lucky to have this opportunity.”
All of these skills have benefited Yap greatly in her academic and extracurricular pursuits, and she attributes them to the people that she met in the CVT. With members all across the globe, all pursuing different majors, Yap appreciates the diversity she found in this organization, alongside the passion, experience, and knowledge that each member brings to the team.
Outside of the CVT, Yap greatly enjoys immersing herself in the activities available at her school: including Model UN, big band, choir, math club, and varsity softball. As a big proponent for language learning, Yap also founded a peer tutoring program and a volunteering program with her school’s modern language department.
“I hope to spark inspiration in students to be more engaged in language learning and immersion,” Yap says.
When she’s not diligently studying or helping improve the world in her extracurricular pursuits, Yap can be found catching up on the latest of Korean reality TV shows. After this love began at the start of quarantine, Yap found her Korean skills skyrocketing over the past year with each episode she watches. She firmly believes that listening to locals speaking the language she’s learning is the most effective way to improve her language level by self-study.
If you ever need an expert in media partnerships, or someone to gossip about Korean reality TV with, you can reach En Yu Yap at enyuyap@gmail.com!
