• Society

Fair Helps Students Find Their College Majors and Careers

• By Rin Ousa
• and Meng Seavmey
• July 1, 2024 2:15 PM

PHNOM PENH – Nearly 2,000 high school and college students were at the 12th Major and Job Fair at the American University of Phnom Penh on June 30 to get advice on their future career paths.

The Fulbright and Undergraduate State Alumni Association of Cambodia (FUSAAC) put together the fair. Before 2012, FUSAAC was known as the Fulbright Alumni Association of Cambodia. The name change occurred when it grew to include students from other exchange programs in the U.S.

Six panel talks, 30 booths, and 60 orientations about different career choices and job possibilities were held at the job fair.

Illyasak Hazan, who used to be president of FUSAAC, said that this event helped students learn about a lot of different majors and work possibilities. 

“FUSAAC has been working to help young people in Cambodia get into college and figure out what they want to do with their lives,” he told Cambodianess. “They have also been encouraging a culture of volunteering and making people more aware of U.S. scholarship opportunities,” he added.

Victor Yau, a public diplomacy officer at the U.S. Embassy, told students that they should talk to seniors and young professionals at this fair about how they chose their majors in college and how that affected their job choices afterward.

He said the embassy was still dedicated to giving Cambodian students the chance to study in the United States through exchange programs. 

Photo_ Fulbright and Undergraduate State Alumni Association of Cambodia (FUSAAC)

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports Sann Vathana said that studying abroad is “not just going to a new country; it’s also a chance to find out more about yourself and pursue your freedom and independence in the new place.”

Vathana said, “When making a choice, do not ask yourself which major or country you should pursue yet. Instead, ask yourself why and how you should go to college in that field and country.”

The French non-governmental group Toutes à l'école brought together about 50 eleventh and twelfth graders from the Happy Chandara School to help them decide what to study in college and what job path to take.

One of them, 11th grader Sarl Serey, came to learn about different courses and jobs because she only has one year left until she goes to college. 

Serey said, “Up to now, I've been really interested in computers, and I'd like to get my bachelor’s degree in IT at the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology.”

Mean Somavotey, an 11th grader, said she wanted to look for more chances to study abroad after she finishes college, especially if she majors in the environment. 

“Because of the crisis of global climate change, I would like to get my bachelor's degree in environmental science at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. After that, I might look for opportunities to study abroad,” said Somavotey.

Saing Muylin, a senior at Paragon International University studying in banking and finance, said that she helped her brother look for a career in the field of sustainable urban planning and development because he was not sure about the career path.

As a past student of the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program, Muylin also wanted to meet with people who had been through U.S. scholarship and exchange programs.  

“Right now, I haven’t thought about getting a master’s degree abroad because I want to get more work experience and I’m not sure what I should specialize in,” she said.

Muylin used the job fair to look at a variety of jobs that were related to her major and career interests.