Nehemiah Aaron Nathan

Nehemiah is a Tunku Scholar and a Year 3 Electrical and Electronics Engineering student from UNITEN who co-founded ‘The EduLab’ with 4 other passionate changemakers to build a social enterprise that aims to improve English proficiency among Malaysian students, especially in the B40 community.

The purpose of Edulab is to close the gap between the urban and rural communities. As such, they developed the ‘Zing! English Card Game’, using a game-based learning approach to help children stay engaged with learning English. The impact of this learning approach is tangible, with over 850 children from 15 government primary schools – including Chinese schools, Tamil schools, and six tuition centres within the Klang Valley area benefiting from the programme and experiencing great gains in their English literacy. The initiative has garnered recognition from esteemed organisations like the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), McKinsey and Co. and the U.S. Department of State.

With his impactful work in ‘Zing! English Card Game’ and ‘The EduLab’, Nehemiah won the prestigious Diana Award in 2023, which was established in memory of Princess of Wales, Diana, and awarded to youths aged 9 to 25 for going above and beyond in their lives to create and sustain positive change and to recognise their social actions or humanitarian work.

“To me, ‘making an impact’ refers to having a significant and constructive impact on people, groups, or the entire globe. It entails making a lasting and constructive impact on people’s lives or the environment through acts, ideas, innovations, or assistance that contribute to positive change. It’s about leaving the world a little bit better off than I left it, even if just a little.”