By Muammar Hadi
GOMBAK, 19 August 2022: œDont waste all the opportunities given to you, says Muhammad Zulhilmi Bin Muhammad, the recipient of the Best Student (Co-curricular) Award from Abdulhamid Abusulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS) on Wednesday (17 August).Â
According to Muhammad Zulhilmi university life offered various ways to obtain co-curricular points compared to life in high school, where co-curricular points were obtained solely from club activities.
He said in an interview, he didnt expect to receive such an award as he considered himself a student who only focused on studies and was known among his friends as “a person who only cares about studying”.
Muhammad Zulhilmi was able to accumulate up to 1400 co-curricular points while also maintaining a CGPA of 3.86, which proves that such a feat is possible.
He shared his secret and said œI only joined one-off programmes by becoming their committee members such as a master of ceremonies (MC).
He further explained that he did not commit himself to one club and would only participate in programmes at the beginning of the semester to avoid having to attend club meetings that could be held in the final weeks of the semester and during examinations.
œI voluntarily joined programmes when no assessments were given out so I could maintain my CGPA, he explained how he managed to obtain co-curricular points while focusing on his study without any commitment to clubs.
Muhammad Zulhilmi receiving his scroll on stage
Asked about his struggle in IIUM, he mentioned how his first three years of study filled with discomforts as he had transportation difficulties and his mahallah was far from classes. He was only able to buy himself a motorcycle in his final year.
œI had to bring a lot of books and my laptop, which was heavy and when I walked, I would sweat a lot and this made it very uncomfortable to focus in the class, he explained.
He mentioned his mother has been the most vital support system where she would push him to do better because she knew his true potential.
Muhammad Zulhilmi was also really grateful to have no free riders in all his years at IIUM, which shows that friends and classmates are important to support systems as well.
Besides that, he also had supportive and understanding lecturers whom he could refer to if he had any confusion and problems.
After being in IIUM, he managed to grow as an MC as he learned to be spontaneous and not just rely on the lines given in the script which he could then implement in his work today.
œDont lose the opportunity to involve yourself in activities so you can gather not just star points, but some much-needed experience for your workplace, he concluded with some advice for students out there.***