Precious Sapphire Gidung: How my journey began.

the Ambassadors :)

Photo courtesy of Breeze mag & George Yong of Jofanna Bridal.

Like everyone else, I never expected to be a part of the Young Tourism Ambassador program. It all started when a lecturer from my college encouraged me to participate in a competition called Sabah Young Tourism Ambassador, which was organized by Sabah Tourist Association.

At first I was sceptical, as I have never joined any competitions prior to this and was also not sure of what the requirements were. However, I tried applying for it anyway and sent my answers without hesitation.

To my utmost surprise, I received a call a week later from the STA office informing me that I got through to the semi-final. I was overjoyed and happily prepared for the day tour. The journey began at Lok Kawi Zoo, whereby we were asked to have a day tour of the zoo and write a short article describing the place and its main attractions.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Zoo on the 24th of November 2011.

After the day tour, we submitted our articles and were informed that we will receive a call on the day itself (Thursday) or latest by Friday if we are selected for the final interview.

On Friday morning, at about 10am, I received the same call from the STA office. This time I was really shocked, because the competition was quite tough in terms of writing. This time round, for the final interview, we were asked to revise on Sabah’s places of interest as it would be the main topic for the interview questions.

So began the week long preparation, and as time went by, the date of the interview loomed closer than ever. I must say, it was quite nerve-wracking and I had my fair share of nervousness as well. The day of the interview finally came, and I had already taken my number.

L-R: Yours truly, Queenie, Mukrim, Marissa & Joan. Group 2

The 10 finalists were divided into two groups of five for two separate sessions. When it came to the second group, which I was in, I can literally feel the nerves from everyone.

The session went pretty well, and it was an amazing experience. To sum it all up, it was worth all the nerves and sweat when it came to the day of the closing ceremony, as it turned out to be one of the best days ever.  ;)

that winning smile with Datuk Masidi :D

Credits to Gordon Chin for the photo.

yours truly,

precious