Cheah Wan Qian

“If you want Malaysia to be a better place, invest your time or money in private education.” These words, heard in a talk a decade ago, became a seed of destiny. It grew into a calling I could no longer ignore, leading me to leave behind what seemed like a higher-flying CEO career and devote myself fully to education.

Having thrived within the most conventional markers of academic success — including an education at the University of Cambridge — I might have been expected to place my faith in the very system that had worked so well for me. Yet it was precisely from within that experience that another question arose: is success the same as education?

When I encountered Waldorf education, something in me recognised it not as an alternative, but as a future — even though it is more than a hundred years old. Its depth, humanity, and trust in the becoming of the child spoke to what I felt was missing in modern schooling. From that moment, I knew this was a path with no turning back.

Although I had once envisioned myself as a teacher, life often placed me in roles of stewardship instead. In hindsight, perhaps my task is to help hold the space — the school — through which true education can unfold.

I hope to dedicate the years ahead to understanding what it truly means to build a threefold community, to practise collaborative, service-based leadership, and to cultivate not-for-profit governance. I am fortunate to have been nourished by the love and trust of my family and my teachers. From that place of deep gratitude, I wish to give back — to serve something larger than myself, and to walk this path together with kindred souls.