Radia-Al-Rashid

Alright, so I am partly discombobulated, partly blank, and partly wandering inside my mind to start writing about the myriad experiences I’ve got to gather from the four years of my Undergraduate degree in ULAB. Being the multi-passionate indecisive individual that I am, it was neither easy nor straightforward for me to choose a particular program or a specific university of my liking. So, choosing ULAB or DEH was not intentional and henceforth can be called a beautifully unknown expedition that turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. After getting admitted to the university, all I brought myself to care about was studying and securing a perfect CGPA at the end of the day to hopefully lessen the still brewing anger of my parents regarding my few not-so-wise life choices before coming here. Let’s not talk about that. Therefore, the routine was pretty predictable and robotic for me to perform according to the rules, please (my parents and others), and perfect my grades on a never-ending loop. Amidst this strictly maintained routine, I got to rediscover the writer inside me. At the age of 5, I used to write fictional stories and poems using very much faulty and misspelled words which gradually faded away as I grew up and the study loads got heavier. Learning about MUSE in the second semester unconsciously ignited that slowly-fading light in my heart to resume the venture of my fiction writing, but this time, I decided to try it in English. Note to be taken, I was given the honor of being a sub-editor at the editorial board of this brilliant magazine later in the sixth semester (Dream come true moment). During my fourth semester, I was for the first time awarded with the Vice Chancellor’s honor list scholarship due to my unwavering grades and performance. Going there to the scholarship award-giving event, I could see university life and study in DEH through somewhat a different and more interesting lens. I understood that it is not just studying like an automaton that this department was expecting from its students, there was much more to the whole scenario. Widening my wings a bit further was required to traverse the untraversed roads. I chose to participate in as many volunteering and club activities as I could, still not up to the mark as my priority was always securing the perfect grades.

In the following semester, the Eng. Lit. Meet, a cultural event organized by the Department of English and Humanities presented me with a “Eureka” moment when I came across my interest and potential to act and write drama scripts. It also let me widen my circle of friends, meet new people with similar interests and obviously, explore more of the magic that was around me all the time. After that, I joined clubs, kept submitting my fictional work-in-progress pieces to MUSE and here and there tried to squeeze in one or two departmental events apart from just studying. The first departmental tour was another experience worth mentioning that brought me closer to the faculty members outside the classrooms. I found how amazingly fun and lighthearted the teachers can be with their students. It helped to ease out the perpetual fear and nerves around the strict teacher-student relationship by letting an amicable environment grow inside and outside the university walls. I was selected for the Vice Chancellor’s Honor List four more times and Dean’s Honor List for once. Each award always gave me a newly motivated push forward and validated the efforts and time I invested in my studies. DEH also provided me with opportunities to host events, organize programs and needless to mention, develop my overall interpersonal skills as well as evolve a growth mindset.

It is unknown to nobody how incredibly expert the faculty members of this department are. I feel so fortunate, overwhelmed and elated all at the same time to recall the endless lessons and concepts I got to learn from all of them. Learning directly from the genius Professors like Kaiser Hamidul Haq, Syed Manzoorul Islam, Mahmud Hasan Khan, and Shamsad Mortuza was beyond describing in mere words. I need to specifically mention one name here: Nishat Atiya Ma’am. There was a moment back in the fifth semester when Ma’am taught us the Modern American Drama course that I wanted to become her absolute carbon copy when I’d graduate. Her teaching style, the friendly environment she used to create so effortlessly and the way she used to tackle all our stupid questions were magnificent. I am ever thankful to you Ma’am, along with all other respected faculty members. I want to mention another name specifically and that is Arifa Ma’am. For some reason, I always thought she was mad at me, inside and outside the classroom (absolutely not her fault, just my oh-so-weird way of assuming things that are eons farther away from the universe). During my dissertation, I luckily got to see how caring and sincere she was towards all of us. Even after the thesis defense, Ma’am very enthusiastically arranged a talk for me where I could be imparting new insights about my thesis topic to other students. Ma’am and Shamsad Sir even went as far as to invite a very special guest, the former Air Vice Marshall, to my talk to upgrade the event to a whole new level that I could never imagine in my wildest dreams. Thank you so much Ma’am for always being so supportive even now, after graduation when I want to discuss things regarding my Masters with you. Well, I think reliving the moments in my head feels much more gratifying and joyful than merely listing them down in black and white; so I want to wrap it up here.

I genuinely wanted to end my incredible journey filled with marvelous lessons, ups, downs, tears, smiles, and laughter with all the wonderful people around me who made it worth remembering to begin with. Then Covid happened and all our plans and dreams crashed to the floor. Although the ending did not turn out as I dreamt it would, I do know in my bones, ULAB and DEH will always be there in the long reels of memories whenever I want to go back. AN IMMENSELY PROUD ULABIAN HERE!