My pre-first act as AWS club president was a disaster (and I learned a lot)

Technically, I'm not president of the AWS Student Builder Group until 2027. So tonight was my pre-first act: the first time I stood up in front of a room and spoke for the club.

It did not go well.

I'm writing this while it still stings, because I'd rather learn from it properly than pretend it went fine.

The setup

Tonight was Monash University Malaysia's first-ever Tech Club Award Night: the campus tech clubs in one badminton court, with food, a lucky draw and awards. Every club had to send at least one representative (no one there meant your award nominations were forfeited), and each president had to present a one-slide recap of their year.

Mohamad, who started the AWS Student Builder Group, couldn't make it. As the incoming president, I said I'd go.

What I prepared

On paper, I was ready.

• The slide: a timeline of our year, from our Cloud Fundamentals crash course in March to the AWS × Axrail AI site visit in October, with our numbers across the top: 10 events, 310 sign-ups, 291 attendances and 181 students.
• The script: about two minutes, with every number highlighted so I could find my place.
• The outfit: a charcoal suit with a knit polo. I genuinely asked whether a suit was too much.

Here's the catch. The slide was still changing on the afternoon of the event, and the script was finished less than two hours before I had to be there. That left under two hours to learn it, get changed and get to campus.

It also landed in one of the busiest stretches of my semester. I was preparing for a massive exam while finishing a big group assignment and an individual one. As well as preping for my internship starting a little bit after the exam period. That's not an excuse, since everyone in that room was juggling a semester too. It's just the context: the presentation was one more thing on the list, and it got whatever time was left over.

You can probably see where this is going.

What actually happened

I'm not going to dress it up: I messed up the presentation.

I was the last club to present, and by the time my turn came, the weight of it had fully set in. I was underprepared, and nothing I'd done that afternoon had got me ready for the real thing: standing up and doing it live.

So I rushed. I wasn't even reading off my notes. I went completely off script, tripped over my words, and spent most of it pointing at the monitor instead of looking at the audience.

I felt terrible walking off. The club had a genuinely great first year, and my two minutes didn't do it justice. Mohamad trusted me to represent the club he built, and it felt like I'd let him down.

Should I have prepared more? Could I have? Honestly, yes to both.

Everything I need to improve

This is the useful bit. Here's my list:

1. Finish early, then rehearse. Done two hours before isn't the same as ready. Next time the slide and script get locked a few days out, and the time before the event goes to practice.
2. Rehearse out loud. Reading a script in your head isn't practice. Standing up, saying it out loud and timing it is.
3. Learn the structure, not every word. Opening, numbers, timeline, thank you. If I know the four beats, one missed line doesn't sink the whole thing.
4. Keep a 30-second version ready. Events run late and slots get squeezed. I should be able to give the short version without panicking.
5. Check the setup before going up. How long do I get? Who changes the slide? Is there a mic? Where do I stand?
6. Practise in front of real people. My committee, friends, anyone. A room full of tech club presidents shouldn't be my first audience.
7. Have a recovery plan. If I lose my place: pause, look at the slide, and pick up from the next point. Nobody remembers a pause. They remember a spiral.

The plan

Presenting is now officially at the top of my list for 2027. Next year I'll be speaking at our own events, and every one of them is a rep. By the time I'm actually president, standing up in front of a room should feel normal.

The handover with Mohamad is coming up soon, and I've got the semester break to plan. ROUND TWO WILL BE BETTER.

The silver lining

The slide was right, even if my delivery wasn't. Ten events, 291 attendances, 181 students and a six-week Cloud Practitioner series in the club's first year is something to be proud of. That's on Mohamad and the committee, and two shaky minutes from me don't change it.

Pre-first act: disaster.

First act: still compiling.