By Yod Pinroj (Alumni, Graduate School of Language and Communication)
Covid-19 crisis was one of the most difficult times of my life, but it was also one of the most impressive periods because of NIDA. My line of work is in healthcare, and I have been taught how to care for patients under the holistic approach taking into account the physical, psychological, and societal aspects. I enrolled in a graduate program with NIDA in the School of Language and Communication. Even though my profession is in healthcare, I had a wonderful time completing this program. Due to having the same chemistry, I have been inspired by NIDA and instilled similar values which were for the graduates to apply knowledge and wisdom to benefit oneself and the society at large for the purpose of national development. This positive impression was acquired through all three core principles of NIDA – Philosophy, Curriculum, and Faculty.
NIDA was founded on the principle of cultivating human capital with knowledge and wisdom to help develop the country, create stability, and progress. I love self-development and believe in NIDA’s philosophy that it will guide us to wisdom to sustainable development.
NIDA also offers a practical curriculum that is fittingly designed for my line of work and for those who must study and work concurrently. I enrolled in an English program for career development, and I believe that the better skilled I become at English language, the better quality healthcare I can provide for my patients, especially those of foreign nationals who speak English. I’m impressed with many elements and courses of the program such as communication between cultures which enabled me to have a deeper understanding of people from different cultural backgrounds. Or with English Grammar class taught by Prof. Katkanda, even though I graduated two years ago, I still to this day review the class materials from time to time. Moreover, many assignments are useful in real life, including resume writing by Prof. Andrew, proposal writing by Prof. Aree, and integrative writing by Prof. Kasama.
The Faculty of School of Language and Communication all demonstrated compassion and understanding for their students. Particularly during online lessons, they were able to transfer the content in an interesting manner and managed to motivate students to seek further knowledge; for instance, Prof. Sawitree who taught Discourse subject and Prof. Sarut who taught Research. The most dramatic impact I experienced was when I was taking the course in Listening and Speaking in the Workplace with Prof. Jira, who gave the students an assignment on Persuasive Speech. He emphasized that “if you intend for people to believe in what you say, you must model such behavior.” With that I started the change with myself and lost 10 kilograms enabling me to confidently and credibly persuade my patients to control their weight for better health.
My impression with NIDA in its philosophy, curricula, and faculty propelled me to develop myself, physically ready for further development, and to use my wisdom for public interest. The application of English language for communication I learned from NIDA has become one of my most precious experiences and memories until this day.
