Award-winning medical student dedicates success to father

GEORGE TOWN: It was the best Father's Day gift from a daughter as she dedicated her achievement of completing her undergraduate medical programme and winning four awards to her father.
Dr Ew Ju Vern, 25, from Kuala Lumpur, was in seventh heaven after winning the Malaysian Medical Association's (Penang branch) first prize in surgery and family medicine.
She also won the University College Dublin (UCD) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Award for the first prize in final examination, and National University of Ireland (NUI) Dr HH Stewart Medical Scholarship for first placing in medical microbiology and commendation in pathology.
Ju Vern said she was inspired by her 56-year-old father Dr Ew Chai Huyok in pursuing her dream of becoming a physician.
She said her father is a paediatrician and this had led her to follow his footsteps in the medical field.
Asked about the secrets behind her success, Ju Vern said it was important for a person to have the right attitude and not give up easily.
"I do not have any special secret but I strive harder," she said after expressing her gratitude to her family at the Penang Medical College 16th convocation ceremony at Eastern and Oriental Hotel.
Her mother, Teh Beng Choo, 56 and 24-year-old brother Gene Wern were also present.