This Malaysian Stanford student is dedicating her life to her hometown, Sabah

There’s this fire in Celeste Chung, and it burns for Sabah, her home.

So much so, she’s pursuing an undergraduate degree at Stanford University as an international relations major with a minor in human rights. She even applied to the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the hardest scholarships in the world, just to make a change.

“I’m trying not to cry, but I spent my whole life fighting for Sabah,” Chung shares with Study International. “My entire degree is to find a way to help the people of Sabah. Everything I learn, I will be bringing back home and amplifying it.”

Meet Celeste Chung, an international relations major at Stanford

Born and raised in Sabah, Malaysia’s poorest state, Chung is no stranger to heartbreak and frustration.

“I was out with my mum on a grocery store run when we saw a group of children running,” she recalls. “I was 12 or 13, and I thought they were just playing around, but I saw the JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara or National Registration Department) chasing after and arresting these children.” 

This struck something in Chung. It was a very confusing moment for her, especially at such a young age. The minute she got home, she started her research. 

“I had no idea what was going on, and I took it upon myself to understand it,” Chung explains. “And then I learnt how Sabah has so many concerning issues, such as statelessness, poor education, and poor access to clean toilets.”

It was shocking to say the least, and from that day on, she had one goal in mind — to dedicate her life to Sabah. 

One of the many ways Chung’s doing it is through education. 

“Education really plays a big part in my values, and my parents also stress a lot about how important it is,” she explains. “My parents had me when they were really young, and my mum dropped out of school to raise my siblings and me.”

Chung is a member of the Stanford Alpha Phi sorority. Source: Celeste Chung

From the poorest state in Malaysia to one of the top universities in the world

When it came time to pursue an undergraduate degree, it was simple — a political science degree. 

In 2022, Chung started her journey for change at Stanford University, the #5 university worldwide for politics. However, something did not feel right.

“I was attending classes on Democracy and the Federalist Papers, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m never going to use this. This doesn’t apply to Malaysia,’” Chung explains. 

So, she shifted over to become an international relations major, and she has no regrets.

It was the best decision she made as it offered her the opportunity to learn about economics, politics, and policymaking. On top of her major, Chung is completing a minor in human rights.

Alongside her degree, Chung has participated in several work opportunities and internships:

• Youth Advisor at The European Union
• Research Assistant at The US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights
• Planning Committee Intern at the Women’s Information Network
• Lecturer at Shenzhen Technology University
• Legal Department Intern at the International Organisation for Migration
• Cyber Security Law Branch Intern at NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence
• Lega; Policy Advisor Intern at the United Nations Human Rights

Today, she’s an International Law Research Assistant at the American Bar Association.

Despite being a part of respected institutions in the field, Chung wants more.

In July 2025, she applied for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the hardest scholarships to secure. Chung managed to become one of the six finalists; however, she wasn’t chosen as the recipient.

“It was an emotional moment when I got the bad news,” she recalls. “I called my mum, and I was telling her I was devastated because the scholarship was for Sabah. She was crying a lot, because this is our future.”

So instead of waiting for the application year, Chung decided to do something about it — and she’s doing something about it now.

Oh, for the love of Sabah

To see your hometown struggle with several life-altering issues is heartbreaking. 

There are approximately 500,000 stateless individuals in Sabah. And it’s estimated that “half of the state’s population may be stateless by 2030”, Dr Chong Eng Leong, an expert on illegal immigrants, shares with Sinchew.

Education itself is almost inaccessible due to its geographical isolation, poor infrastructure, financial barriers, and documentation issues.

An estimated 300,000 marginalised children in Sabah lack access to formal education, forcing many onto the streets and into vulnerable situations, according to the Borneo Post.

“Access to a proper education is bad, but it’s even worse for girls who are menstruating,” Chung shares. “There’s a lack of hygienic bathrooms and even access to menstrual pads for the children.”

In some rural districts of Sabah, one in four Sabahan girls does not complete secondary school.

Chung believes that every country owes every child full access to an education. So much so that she’s currently in the process of launching a scholarship fund for Sabahan girls. 

“Because if this Rhodes Scholarship journey taught me anything, it is that Sabah cannot wait any longer for representation,” she says in a LinkedIn post. “And if one door didn’t open for me, then I will build another and make sure Sabahans will walk through it long after me.”

Chung has been in contact with a few corporations and foundations that have reached out to her.

The thing is, she’s no stranger to founding organisations or initiatives.

At the age of 14, Chung founded Youth For The Future, an organisation that supports over 10,000 children. Chung even successfully secured funding at the age of 14 and won several grants to keep it going, on top of US$100,000 of crowdfunding.

“The tricky part is the financial commitments, but it’s all worth it as this is a dedication for the girls of Sabah,” Chung says. “The vision is to get more kids to be in school, and not just to be enrolled, but to make sure they complete the entire school process — from start to finish.”