Things have been really exciting this week as more MSUrians return to campus after a long break from face-to-face learning. To add to the excitement, we had H.E Dr Shazelina Z. Abidin, Ambassador of Malaysia to Senegal on campus for a quick visit and banter over coffee with our President, Prof. Tan Sri Dato Dr Wira Mohd Shukri Ab. Yajid.

We managed to grab her for a quick interview, and it was eye-opening! Read to find out 4 awe-inspiring things we have learned from her.

1. The sky’s the limit
   
   Talking about limits, we don’t think Dr Shazelina is ever going to stop, even if she has achieved numerous accomplishments.
   
   Dr Shazelina has been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia since 1996 and has served in Washington D.C., in addition to her four-year stint at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. She has held various desks at the Ministry including heading the human rights division, the communications division, and also handling multilateral economic matters. She is currently the Ambassador of Malaysia to Senegal, with concurrent accreditation to Mali, the Gambia, Cabo Verde and Burkina Faso. And more to come, undoubtedly!
   
   


2. Hard work is the key to success
   
   There are many keys to success, but one of them must be hard work. Besides being the ambassador of Malaysia to Senegal, Dr Shazelina maintains strong ties to the academic world, and still holds the post of Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield.
   
   Did we mention that Dr Shazelina writes too? Yes, she is one outstanding writer and still maintains her regular column in Malaysia’s The New Straits Times every month.


3. Gender doesn’t dictate your triumph
   
   Closer to home, more than 60% of MSUrians are women and we don’t want to miss this opportunity, as Dr Shazelina is the perfect candidate to ask for advice from, especially when it comes to women empowerment.
   
   “The sky's the limit. I grew up in a household where there’s no such thing as ‘I can’t do it because I’m a girl’. I'm not saying that everyone will grow up in that kind of household, but once you get into university, if you get out with the mindset that I can't do this because it’s a man’s job, then forget it.”
   
   
   “I love the fact that I am actually in a male-dominated industry. I only realised that later on when I’m climbing the career ladder, I am as good as they are.”
   
   Dr Shazelina always loved the quote attributed to Hillary Clinton: “When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit”, and she clearly is living by it.


4. The pandemic is a blessing in disguise
   
   “It is a very weird situation. We would think that because our borders are closed, it's very difficult to get the international students in. But from my own experience in Senegal and in the Gambia in West Africa, is that because of the pandemic, Asia becomes very attractive to them,” says Dr Shazelina when we asked about the internationalization and how the pandemic affects education in Malaysia.
   
   “They wouldn’t have normally looked at Asia, but we now have an agreement with the government of Senegal and they are providing scholarships to those coming to Malaysia. This year, we are looking at 50 Senegalese coming to Malaysia,” she said. Senegal has a cultural tradition made beautiful by its people and so do we. It is so exciting knowing that we are about to have more family members from the other part of the world who similarly appreciate cultural diversity.