By: Nazrul Rapail
Student of Bachelor of Arts (Malay Language and Linguistics)
SERDANG, March 24 - Nurul Fariza Syuhada Fauzi, 28, has successfully completed a Master of Education in Educational Psychology from the Faculty of Educational Studies (FPP) at Session 6 of the 45th Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Convocation Ceremony today.
Despite enduring a difficult phase while studying, Nurul Fariza expressed her gratitude for being able to complete her studies successfully.
The native of Kulai, Johor, began her studies at UPM in 2018 and, at the same time, worked part-time throughout the period as an initiative to ease her family’s burden.
"I am very grateful to have understanding lecturers, for I almost gave up once and wanted to stop studying because of the pressure from the new environment when I first entered UPM," she said.
Nurul Fariza, the eldest of the three siblings, was not a recipient of any financial support to pursue her studies.
She admitted that the part-time jobs she did were important to help support her studies. She also acknowledged that studying required a lot of money, and she wanted to earn an income as she did not want to bother her parents.
Whilst studying at UPM, she used to use her motorcycle and be a runner to help her friend actively do business. She explained that the opportunity taken was an initiative for her to earn some money while still being of help to her friend’s business.
She also added that she would be a waitress in restaurants and hotels during important occasions.
"Whenever I had free time, I would part-time as a waitress in hotels for weddings and corporate functions," she said.
Regarding time management, she would normally fill her class schedule with only two days of lectures in a week.
“The other free days were for me to work and write my thesis at night. This is the advantage of having a flexible time because we can manage it ourselves,” she said.
Nurul Fariza often held on to the motto, “In this life, if there are people who try to bring us down, there will definitely be others who will welcome us. Find someone as such to be our companion. As for me, it is important for us to keep that spirit.”
At the end of her studies, Nurul Fariza also met her soulmate and went on to build a family.
For her, it was destiny and provision from Allah S.W.T, and she was grateful for having her husband by her side who encouraged her constantly to complete her thesis. - UPM
