New Admissions Director Aims for High Standards

By Tim Vutha

Kong Sambathrorth, a 28-year-old native of Prey Veng province, joined the UC family as the Admissions Director in March. Sambathrorth, who graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Build Bright University’s Siem Reap branch, has lived in Phnom Penh since 1992 when he took a job as an English tutor at Somrong Andet High School. He also taught English at New York International School (NYIS) and was promoted to Deputy Principal of its branch in Siem Reap province. Sambathrorth said he feels passionate for his new job at The University of Cambodia and hopes to become a lecturer here sometime in the future. When he came across the job announcement on the UC website, he saw it as a golden opportunity.  “I love working in the university environment,” he said. “I chose the university with the highest standards.”

As Admissions Director, his main responsibility is to effectively gather and pass along information to people at UC who have questions or concerns. He keeps track of student records so they are easily accessible to students and departmental staff, organizing a documenting system in both hard and soft copy form. 

He said he is strongly committed to developing a higher standard in the admission office among his small staff of Chem Sophana, Chhim Kimlun and Tek Molika. 

“I plan to build the capacity of the admission staff and improve their daily work, especially since the university plans to add more staff in order to facilitate the work effectively,” he said. “I also plan to improve the technology and IT system here as well.”

Because of this kind management, his staff admires him.

“He works fast and effectively. He is usually kind to us and when the staff is busy, he is happy to help us,” Molika said, noting that he insists on a reasonable size workload.

According to Sambathrorth, having a well-run admission office is important because it provides many benefits for the university and students. Students must be able to conveniently access the office, whether it be to obtain information about UC activities and programs or make adjustments in their student records. 

The office also serves as a sort of liaison between the public and the university and is consulted if outsiders want a tour of the campus, he said. It also plays a major roll in recruitment. 

“Before students decided to register at UC, we have to persuade them to see the value of our university. So, it is up to the talent of our staffs,” he said. 

Sambathrorth’s future goals continually link his life to the field of education. 

“I want to work in the higher education institutions,” he said. “I want to be a lecturer or even professor at university. If possible, I can work as the admission director during the week and teach on the weekend.”

As an idealist, his personal goals include tying in his passion for education to help orphaned children in Cambodia.

“I plan to get involved with some NGOs doing humanitarian activities to help the poor and orphaned children. I can teach English and life skills to them. In fact, I want to help them much more than this,” he said, hoping to do more once he obtains is Master’s degree. 

In his free time, Sambathrorth loves to play football, watch news on Discovery Channel and travel. He has been married since 2002 and enjoys family life with his wife and two daughters.