TOKEN OF APPRECIATION TO AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION BOARD

  I am Usra Shaukat, former student of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Kuragh, Chitral. AKHSS is one of the few schools in our areas which focuses in the holistics development of it’s students. Faculties and the whole administration of the school tries their best to motivate their students to learn beyond textbooks and be able to properly express themselves. Though, I must say there are few areas which need to be discuss and it would be really great if there is some improvement in those areas. I studied pre- medical and graduated in 2015. I moved to Bangladesh for my Undergraduate to study in Asian University for Women.Fortunately, I am recipient of AUW four year full scholarship. In addition to this, I am also lucky enough to receive scholarship from Sparks of Hope Foundation.

Like other universities, AUW does not offer a lot of major subjects. There are few subjects, but are really good. So, in front of me there were options of Public health, Environmental Studies, Politics,Philosophy and Economics( PPE), Economics and Computer Sciences. I opted for PPE and I have reason behind this. Since my childhood I was interested in Social Science and that’s why I switched my career. Plus,PPE is such a subject, where you can have taste of three various subjects only in one plate.You not only have insights of global politics, economic issues, ideas about several developmental organizations, but also you get to know about ancient and modern philosophy and how you are going to related that to your day to day life. Furthermore, there are many more opportunities and career options related to PPE.

In my seventh semester, I got an opportunity to be part of an exchange program in the University of Trento, Italy. I will be spending my one semester here and will head back to Bangladesh for my last semester. At University of Trento, I am recipient of Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility Scholarship for six months. Back in AKHSS, we were introduced to terms like globalization, diversity and pluralism and were told how to cope with that. I had experience of diversity in AUW and the experiences which I got from AKHSS and AUW is that if you really want to grow in your life, then try to spend your time with people who doesn’t belong to your religion, not of your age and doesn’t speak your language. That is how I am trying to utilize my time in a useful and productive way in Italy.

I am in my final year and I guess this is the toughest part of one's life because they have three options in front of them. Either to further continue their studies or go and have some work experience. There is one more option as well, to give up on studies, because sometimes, we think that we have studied quite a lot. So, in my case I am planning to be part of Teach for Pakistan, which is a two year fellowship program for graduates, who are really interested to contribute in the education sector of Pakistan.The best part about TFP is that, if you are able to perform really good during your stay, you are able to get scholarship for your further studies in prestigious national and International universities. Once, I get enough experience from this opportunity, I am eager to study International Education and Developmental studies from Sussex University, UK. It has been a dream to work in the Academic sector of Pakistani  and this will be a better option for me.

Just a few words for the students; be happy in whatever you are doing, but give your best in that. Try to utilize your time properly and productively, which is more important. Focus more on your communication and writing skills, because tomorrow how you are going to present yourself to others, that is really important. Lastly, be proud of yourself and be thankful to be part of AKUEB, because not all have this wonderful platform.