My name is Seak Pek, but I just go by Pek. On the web, I am often found as syutbai, a pseudonym I created when I was 15 years old which is made up of two parts:
syut from SYUT BAAK, my first name in Cantonese Yale romanization.
bai from XUE BAI, my first name in Mandarin Pinyin romanization.
I am completing a Mechatronics Engineering degree at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Machine Intelligence and Soft Computing. I am expecting to graduate in April 2010.
I am working on a project that will bridge adult language learners from the classroom to the real word. Being a relentless language learner myself, I am passionate about making foreign languages fun to learn!
I love conferences because bringing great people together is truly incredible. I’m part of the executive team for the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference. I am also an avid volunteer, getting myself involved in English Tutoring for the UW International Student Office, the Canadian Engineering Competition 2008, StartupEmpire Conference 2008, Go Eng Girl! 2008, UW Engineering March Break Open House 2008, UW Student Life 101 in 2005, Adult Basic Literacy Tutoring in 2003-2004, among various other activities. I will also be volunteering at the Canada 3.0 Conference in Stratford coming up in June 2009.
I have diverse skills and interests ranging from the arts, business, technology, linguistics, psychology, and philosophy. I love learning, growing and mentoring others. I've put together this portal to give a snapshot of who I am, what's important to me, where I am going, and where I want to be. Enjoy!
Am I Canadian? Thai? Cambodian? Chinese?
I am an official Canadian citizen living in Canada for exactly 20 years on May 15th, 2009. I have native fluency in Canadian English in both oral and written forms. I grew up immersed in Canadian culture where just about everyone in my hometown was Caucasian speaking fluent Canadian English.
I was born in Thailand and left when I was three and a half years old. I don't know Thai, but rather Khmer (Cambodian), my mother's only fluent language and thus our family's primary language. Cambodia is my parents' and older sister's birthplace.
I look neither Thai nor Cambodian, whose ethnic population tends to have darker skin and distinctly different appearance. If you trace my roots, I am Chinese: Cantonese from southern China.
My life is filled with a mixture of western and Asian culture and values. Family is highest on my priority list where filial piety plays a significant role. Although I place high value on my family, I also possess a strong will to defy my parents' expectations. I believe in Karma, spirits, and the Chinese philosophy of nature, medicine, and life. Food is dominated by home-cooked Asian cuisine: Cambodian and Chinese. On the other hand, I am an assertive woman with a strong sense of independence and freedom. I also have individualistic values that may drive me to reject conforming to cliques or groups.