Kenneth R. Szulczyk

“I fell in love with teaching as it grabbed me in its arms and led me around the world. My teaching career started in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union. My motto became ‘I have textbooks and will travel’. Then I pursued teaching opportunities in universities in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and the United States. I taught students from diverse cultures and backgrounds while sampling good food and sipping coffee from around the world.

“In 2014, Curtin Malaysia offered me a teaching position. I thought how cool it is to live on the exotic island of Borneo – the land of lush, pristine rainforests teaming with untamed wildlife and (at one time) headhunters. In 2015, the university promoted me to head the Department of Finance and Banking. Of course, teaching remains my primary passion, where I teach difficult subjects like Derivative Securities and Microeconomic Theory.

“Now, I juggle many things. I teach, conduct research, and lead my department. I am also an artist, runner, and scuba diver on the weekends. I sold several pieces of art to raise money for charity, ran several 10k races, and became a PADI divemaster.

“Miri has some fantastic dive sites. I explore the world underwater and try to unravel its mysteries. I had a storm of fish swim around me like a whirlwind several times, and a school of barracuda darted past me baring their sharp teeth. I even made the newspaper when I helped a team of divers remove the ghost nets that were choking the coral and wildlife at one dive site.

“Thus, I live life to its fullest. If we all can do one positive thing every day, we can hand our children a better world.” –Kenneth R. Szulczyk, Senior Lecturer and Head of Department