Yvonne Foong: Psychology and Neurofibromatosis

Do you know someone who has worked hard to be where he or she is today, and that hard work has helped friends and the community?

I am glad to say I do. In 2002, my friend invited me to Astro headquarters where I met the crew behind XFresh. There were the occasional meet-ups in fastfood joints when the crew would associate with youth members they knew through IRC chatrooms and online forums. I was a little too quiet in my teens and did not know many people. But out of the few, one remained in contact till today. Edrei Zahari, who writes a blog at www.kamigoroshi.net.

Ed grew up with both parents who got him by with necessities. But mentally and emotionally, Ed have always been self-reliant. Instead of toys, Ed turned to books and computing. Then came education. His parents allocated a sum for Ed’s higher education, but it was up to him on how to budget that money. Supply was limited, but Ed has big dreams.

A close friend died of cancer years ago. This pained him, but also instilled a lifelong cause. Ed wants to find a cure for cancer.

So Ed used the limited funds his parents saved for college fees. The course took him to Australia, where he worked odd jobs to buy food and pay rent.

He could have settled for cheaper courses and still have some left as pocket money. But Ed wanted to cure cancer. So with hard work and perseverance, Ed graduated with a degree in Medical Biotechnology.

Following that, Ed worked out a plan for his second degree. With some help paying for extensions, Ed graduated with another - degree in medical science pathology.

Ed‘s now a post-graduate and works as a lab assistant too. The pay is good so Ed no longer wait at tables after school.

Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Since Ed has little money to spend on leisure, he camps out in his room when he‘s not in campus. Ed has a brain in web development, and over years, has helped me and many others in troubleshooting computers and wordpress - the opensource blogging system. Ed also has a lot of patience guiding my studies. When it comes to biology, I have a hard time remembering names, but Ed repeated things over time without complain.

I nominated Ed for this year’s AYA Most Outstanding Youth of the Year Award.

Would you like to nominare someone? Click here to do so