Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Major: Public Health and Political Science
Clubs/activities: Southeast Asian Association executive board member, GlobeMed, Milken Undergraduate Student Association
Previous SA experience: Milken Institute School of Public Health Undergraduate Senator
Favorite GWorld spot: Froggy Bottom Pub
Dream job: Secretary General of the United Nations
Fun fact: The thing I miss most about home is the weather I grew up in, I definitely miss that general feel of heat.
Favorite D.C. museum: National Museum of Natural History
All-time favorite city: Kuala Lumpur, for sure
Favorite show on Netflix: “The Walking Dead”
When executive vice presidential candidate Peak Sen Chua first arrived in D.C. from his hometown of Kuala Lumpur, he said it took some time to adjust.
“I’ve become more able to find my way and get to a lot of things I need to do by just walking, while in Malaysia we depend on cars, mainly because of the weather,” Chua said. “It’s just too hot, you’ll get heatstroke if you walk around for two blocks.”
Chua said he attended an international school in Malaysia with students from more than 25 countries around the world, which helped him understand and relate to students from different backgrounds – and that would serve him well as the Student Association’s executive vice president.
“I’ve grown up around a variety of perspectives. I understand dissatisfaction and satisfaction, as well as what needs to be done for all GW students,” Chua said.
Chua said he reflected on his time at an international high school and his experiences as an international student on campus to form his platform. His idea to create a list of “country representatives” that international students from any country can contact came from his inability to find fellow students from Malaysia during his freshman year, he said.
“I only found a community halfway through my second semester because I met a Singaporean person in J Street by chance,” Chua said. “This plan reflects my experience as an international student where I had a really hard time trying to fit into the community.”
Outside of international student issues, Chua’s plans include pushing for freshmen and sophomores to be able to take one pass/fail elective and cutting missed appointment fees at the Colonial Health Center in half.
The Milken Institute School of Public Health senator said his experience on the SA passing legislation qualifies him to lead the senate. In December, he supported a resolution to increase accessibility of academic materials to hearing and visually impaired students.
“I think we forget the devastation and the impact that disabilities, chronic or temporary, can have,” Chua said. “It’s important to me because people really need it, and it’s something people don’t really think about.”
The sophomore said he will focus primarily on making SA members more accessible to other students, by pushing senators to attend student organization meetings and mandating weekly office hours.
“I want to create a culture in the SA where we are constantly reaching out to people, not just reaching out to them only during election time,” Chua said.
