By: Faiznur Jasmin Faiz
Bachelor of Science (Human Development), FEM
Falling in love with the environment of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has moved the national shooting athlete, Nurul Fatihah Mohammad Tahir, 28, to choose UPM and successfully complete her studies in Bachelor of Communication at the 44th Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Convocation Ceremony here.
She had been in the shooting sport for over 12 years, from when she was still in school up until university. Her best achievement so far was the Youth Olympics, under-18 category, as a representative of Malaysia and UPM in shooting sports.
Active involvement in the shooting sports did not break Fatihah’s spirit to continue her studies to the degree level at UPM.
Nur Fatihah said proper time management between sports and academics helped her complete her studies while proving how important self-discipline is to a student.
“Don’t postpone assignments received and complete them on time and don’t focus only on sports and neglect studies,” she said.
Fatihah, who hails from Batu Gajah, Perak, said she always strived to gain the confidence of her peers in any group assignment due to the stigma students generally have regarding student-athletes who are less prominent in academics.
On her own initiative, she tried to understand student life from different backgrounds, which helped Fatihah achieve excellent results in her studies.
Her advice to UPM students who are currently attending online classes is to continue working hard until the end despite facing various challenges due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. – UPM
