By Jasmin Jafrizul
GOMBAK, 29 November 2023: “If I did not have dedication and good time management, I wouldn’t have made it to graduation,” said Iffah Sakinah Binti Othman in her interview with IIUM Today.
Iffah Sakinah Binti Othman graduated from the Kulliyyah of Languages and Management (KLM) and majored in Malay for International Communication, recently. She received her scroll in the sixth session of the 39th IIUM Convocation Ceremony on Tuesday morning (28 November 2023) at IIUM Gombak. She was five months pregnant with her second child at the time.
Iffah described her journey during her study while pregnant without her husband by her side as they engaged in a long-distance relationship (LDR) as eventful.
She was admitted to hospital three times due to allergies, but she still managed to finish her study earlier than the normal study period despite all the pregnancy and LDR challenges.
“The biggest struggle was when I had to finish my Final Year Project (FYP) pregnant and in my third trimester and had back pains with difficulties of movement,” she said.
Being expectant when receiving her scroll was when she was in her second pregnancy, she was pregnant with her first child during her study, “I had my first child two weeks after the final exams,” she added.
“I have never used pregnancy as an excuse to delay my presentations and submissions of assignments; I had always been timely in my studies and am grateful for my lecturers’ understanding,” she said.
Despite being in an LDR and having to be separated because of work and studies, the couple emphasised that the most important thing is to support one another and to just go with the flow.
Iffah was married to Wan Muhammad Adib bin Wan Zuraidi on 6 May 2022 during her third year of study. They have an 8-month-old baby and are expecting the birth of their second child in March 2024.***
they will fly away,
however,
if you spend your time building a beautiful garden
the butterflies will come to you
and if they don't,
at least you have a garden to be happy with.
- Katherine Young
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