By Hessa Kawthar
GOMBAK, 13 March 2022: Pregnant graduands, Nurullisa Rashid (Master of Surgery) and Umi Nadrah Binti Amran (Master of Health Sciences) shared their heartfelt and wonderful journeys upon receiving their scrolls today at the 36th IIUM Convocation Ceremony.
Nurullisa who is currently nine months pregnant was moved after hearing the speech by fellow graduand as she was reminded of the hardships she went through in her masters’ years. Nonetheless, she remarked that the essence of her hard work is to not give up.
Nurullisa shared that she trained her children to sleep early at 10 p.m. so that she would have the time to do some revisions.
“I would wake up around 3 to 4 a.m. to study, which was quite difficult, but Alhamdulillah I was blessed with easy-going and manageable kids,” said Nurullisa.
She also advised pregnant mothers to not give up no matter how hard studying is. Meanwhile, Umi Nadrah added her tips to always prioritise physical health first and take a break whenever necessary.
Both had directed their honourable mentions of their husbands due to the persistent support starting from day one.
“My husband deserves to share this master’s degree because he commuted all the way here as we have been in a long distance relationship for almost seven years now,” Nurullisa declared.
“She almost gave up while reviewing her thesis, and I would encourage her to keep going because she’s halfway to finishing her master’s degree,” said Engku Fathul, Umi Nadrah’s husband.
Engku Fathul also encourages his wife to pursue a PhD someday and asserts that he is very proud of her wife’s accomplishment.
Nurullisa and Umi Nadrah were delighted that they finally had a convocation ceremony because it was postponed for quite some time due to COVID-19 pandemic.***