Banking on words

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Banking on words

3 minute read

Having grown up in the multicultural pockets of Malaysia, where multiple languages are spoken, Shalini Rajkumar has always found various vernaculars to be alluring.

“In Malaysia, one would always be a part of many conversations if they knew multiple languages. It’s a simple asset that can take anyone a long way,” Shalini shares.

Apart from her fluency in Malay, English and Tamil, Shalini is also currently learning Mandarin at The Australian National University (ANU); along with her core courses in finance and economics at the ANU College of Business and Economics (CBE).

She feels that all her interests have perfectly aligned.

I chose CBE because of its teaching quality, the flexible degrees and their research-led study.

“I had to choose electives and I thought of doing something outside the scope of my degree. That’s when I approached CBE Student Services with my dilemma. They helped me with the structure of my degree, and I thought why not Mandarin?” Shalini explained.

She finds that her experience of learning a language is not only building her academic and professional profile but also equally expanding her social network.

"I feel that this experience has been helpful for me to branch out and mix with likeminded students from across different courses and degrees at the University," Shalini added.  

Having grown up in Kluang, a small Malaysian town, popular for its outdoors and farms, Shalini had to leave her hometown to pursue higher education.

She moved to HELP University in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and decided to do a credit transfer to ANU for the remainder of her undergraduate degree.

“I chose CBE because of its teaching quality, the flexible degree structure and its research-led study. I distinctly remember my first economics class and being enthralled by the exchange of logic and trains of thought,” Shalini recalls.  

She is currently studying a Bachelor of Finance and a Bachelor of Economics double degree, and is the recipient of the ANU CBE International Undergraduate Scholarship.

Aside from the coffee beans from her hometown, and her responsibilities as a representative for Burton & Garran Hall, an on-campus accommodation, Shalini believes her scholarship has helped her settle in.

“My coffee smells like home and it reminds me of how lucky I am to be here at CBE and to have a scholarship to help me pursue my higher education. Without my scholarship, I would not have had this experience in an overseas university. My Kluang coffee is my daily reminder of why I’m here,” Shalini shared.


The ANU College of Business and Economics offers an extensive range of specialised programs in Finance and Economics. Click here for more details.