Reflection from the class of 2025: She chose resilience and growth
21 April 2025
Stephanie with her parents, Cheah Kiu Beng and Elizabeth Daisy anak Aloysius Dom.
Becoming a pharmacist wasn't what Stephanie Cheah Ee Lin always dreamed of. She started off hoping to design prosthetic devices as a successful engineer. But what happened instead turned out to be far more meaningful for her.
When Stephanie began her Pharmacy journey at Monash University Malaysia in 2021, the world was in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stephanie spent her entire year in Zoom classes with bad internet connections. It wasn't the university life she had imagined growing up.
Once she returned to campus, things worked differently for her. "It was during our clinical workshops that I discovered my passion," she says. "Working with teammates to solve medication-related problems made the theory feel real. I realised how much I enjoyed clinical pharmacy."
That interest deepened through the Comprehensive Care units and her preparation for the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), a rigorous assessment that trains students for real-world experience. The practice she had during those training sessions became a strong foundation.
In her third year, Stephanie was elected the female representative for the School of Pharmacy under the Monash University Student Association (MUSA). She helped organise student activities alongside her team and launched peer-learning initiatives such as the OSCE Workshop for juniors. Stephanie joined the Malaysian Pharmacy Students' Association (MyPSA) as a subcommittee member. She served as Vice Project Director for Metamorphosis, a program that once guided her transition into university.
But that same year brought unexpected challenges to her life. Stephanie's mother suffered a stroke, and between hospital visits and academic and leadership commitments, Stephanie had to find a balance.
"It was a lot," she shared. "But my mum always valued education and generosity. She once gave up medical school so her siblings could complete their studies. She's the reason I push through."
Stephanie also recalled something her mother often said: "No man is an island." This slogan became something that Stephanie lived by throughout her time at Monash. She has always strived to help many in the pharmacy student community thrive through her roles in MUSA and MyPSA. "Of course, none of these initiatives could've been done without my fellow teammates." Outside of pharmacy, she took the helm of the Monash Taekwondo Club. "I wanted to continue the warm, inviting environment legacy and drive our competition team to greater heights, together with my committee".
What began as a quiet and unimaginable first year due to the pandemic grew into a story of courage, leadership, and growth. Stephanie's journey is a reminder that sometimes, when plans don't work out, life has something even more significant in store.