Indonesian 'entitled' woman who sought funding for MBA apologises, retries her pitch印尼一名自以为是的女子曾寻求MBA资助，事后她道歉并重新开始游说。
After her previous pitch was shut down, this Indonesian woman has decided to try again — this time with more modesty.Evelyn Clarissa Siregar had earlier sought funding from netizens via a Threads post last Saturday (Sept 19), sharing that she needed $82,480 in total for her Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme with Singapore Management University (SMU).Her post received harsh...
After her previous pitch was shut down, this Indonesian woman has decided to try again — this time with more modesty.
Evelyn Clarissa Siregar had earlier sought funding from netizens via a Threads post last Saturday (Sept 19), sharing that she needed $82,480 in total for her Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme with Singapore Management University (SMU).
Her post received harsh criticism from netizens who described her actions as "online begging".
Others felt that she seemed "entitled" for believing that she could gain an education without working or saving up for it and getting someone else to pay for it.
Reflecting on her Threads post and responses to comments that lambasted her, Siregar admitted in an Instagram post on Thursday (Sept 24) that she had spoken out of turn and acted defensively in comments without understanding why people were reacting so severely.
"I was too entitled and failed to consider the bigger picture," she said. "And for that, I am truly sorry."
Acknowledging her mistakes, she shared that she hopes to learn from them, adding that she would like to submit her pitch once again.
"This time, properly," she stated, adding that she genuinely believed that if she wanted to pursue something this important, she "should be willing to put myself out there, ask, and see if people were willing to support my journey".
The 28-year-old pointed out that she doesn't see asking for sponsorship as something wrong.
"And I still don't," she said. "What I got wrong was how I went about it."
More supportive comments from netizens
Highlighting a lack of Southeast Asian products in the global market, she offered to form the bridge between investors, researchers and industry, beginning with beauty and consumer goods.
Siregar then explained the importance of an education in Singapore in allowing her to become that bridge, also sharing the trials she went through to get to this point.
"So that's what I was trying to say," she said. "I'm not just trying to get an MBA. I'm trying to build the skills, connections and experience… I don't know exactly what the path will look like yet.
"But I do know where I want to go. And this time, I hope I've explained the journey a little better."
While some users still panned her, there were noticeably more supportive comments than before.
"Unfortunately we were born in countries that don't provide the best pathway, but I truly believe you'll make it," a user empathised.
Another cheered: "It must've been tough after what happened, I would totally understand how much it took out of you.
"Keep going! It's for a dream you want to achieve."
Some comments also took a more neutral stance on the matter, offering Siregar advice.
"What I can infer is you're basically burned out from the MBA admission process, and the way you handled it somehow led you to believe that putting your "pitch" online will save you," the user said.
Instead, Siregar should be looking for therapy, a good mentor and going through the admission process again, the user stated.
"If you set a limit on what you're willing to put in, don't be surprised if life sets a limit on what you can have. Good luck."
khooyihang@asiaone.com
这位印尼女子之前的推销被驳回后，决定再次尝试——这一次她更加谦逊了。
Evelyn Clarissa Siregar 上周六（9 月 19 日）在 Threads 上发帖向网友寻求资金，表示她需要总共 82,480 美元才能在新加坡管理大学 (SMU) 攻读工商管理硕士 (MBA) 课程。
她的帖子遭到网友的严厉批评，网友们称她的行为是“网络乞讨”。
其他人则认为她“理所当然”地认为自己可以不工作、不攒钱、不让别人付钱就接受教育。
反思自己在 Threads 上发布的帖子以及对批评她的评论的回应，Siregar 于周四（9 月 24 日）在 Instagram 上发帖承认，她当时说话不合时宜，并在评论中采取了防御姿态，却不明白为什么人们的反应如此强烈。
“我当时太自以为是，没有考虑到大局，”她说。“对此，我深感抱歉。”
她承认了自己的错误，并表示希望从中吸取教训，还补充说她想再次提交她的提案。
“这一次，我要认真对待，”她说道，并补充说，她真心相信，如果她想追求如此重要的事情，她“应该愿意走出去，去询问，看看人们是否愿意支持我的旅程”。
这位28岁的女子指出，她不认为寻求赞助是件错事。
“我还是不明白，”她说。“我错在处理这件事的方式上。”
更多网友评论表示支持
她指出全球市场上缺乏东南亚产品，并表示愿意搭建投资者、研究人员和行业之间的桥梁，首先从美容和消费品领域入手。
随后，Siregar 解释了在新加坡接受教育的重要性，使她能够成为连接彼此的桥梁，并分享了她为走到今天这一步所经历的种种考验。
“所以，这就是我想说的，”她说。“我不仅仅是想拿到MBA学位。我还想积累技能、人脉和经验……我还不清楚未来的路会是什么样子。”
“但我知道我想去哪里。这一次，我希望我能更好地解释清楚我的旅程。”
虽然仍有一些用户批评她，但支持她的评论明显比以前多了很多。
“很遗憾，我们出生在那些没有提供最佳发展道路的国家，但我真心相信你会成功的，”一位用户表示同情。
另一位网友鼓励道：“发生那样的事之后一定很艰难，我完全能理解你承受了多大的痛苦。”
“坚持下去！这是为了实现你想要的梦想。”
一些评论也对此事持较为中立的态度，并向 Siregar 提供了建议。
“我的推断是，你基本上已经对MBA申请过程感到厌倦了，而你处理这件事的方式让你觉得把你的‘申请材料’放到网上就能救你，”这位用户说道。
该用户表示，Siregar 应该寻求心理治疗、寻找一位良师益友，并重新参加入学申请。
“如果你限制了自己的付出，那么生活也限制了你能拥有的，这一点也不要感到惊讶。祝你好运。”
khooyihang@asiaone.com