The transitional phase from high school to university life was one of the most overwhelming yet exciting phase for me. I learned and experienced so many new things in my degree life that those 3 years studying Pharmaceutical Chemistry at IMU felt like it went by in just a blink of an eye.
Being the only Malay student in my cohort has pushed me to be more confident in making more friends from different races and backgrounds, I feel like that has contributed a lot to my growth. I have become braver and more confident in foreign environments. It is miraculous to see how much I’ve changed and grown within these three years.
Having my classes conducted online during the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the Covid-19 pandemic was a struggle but my lecturers went above and beyond to make sure all of us could grasp all that they tried to deliver. Not once have I ever felt like I was being troublesome when I was asking for help or clarification. Instead, they were happy and enthusiastic whenever students asked questions after lecture.
On my last semester I had to take an MPU module called “Work-life balance”. My take-home from this module is, in order to give your best performance, you need to create a healthy balance between your study and personal life. This ensures that you allow yourself to rest and rejuvenate when it’s due. In order to achieve that balance, setting boundaries and organising are the main keys. Though planning and organising your schedule might sound tedious, it has helped me so much in making full use of my time in a beneficial and healthy way. So, analyse your to-do list and set achievable goals by implementing time-management strategies.
Future Plans
Currently, I am waiting to pursue my masters. Meanwhile, I am taking my time to just take a breather to travel and bond with friends and family. My ultimate goal is to wake up every day without feeling the dread of going to work so I have always been determined to identify what is my forte and what I am most passionate about. Being in IMU, I found that I love anything related to formulations and with further reading I know I’m most interested in cosmetology. Thus, I am planning on pursuing my masters in cosmetology.
Advice to Juniors
Lastly, my advice to my juniors is to hang around a good circle of friends, they have a bigger influence on you more than you imagine. I’m blessed to have met such amazing classmates cum friends, who have also been a big help in helping me thrive throughout these 3 years. Especially throughout the MCO period when it was very easy to get distracted and swayed due to the many distractions at home, they kept me attentive, and we were always reminding each other about due dates of assignments as well as incoming class tests. I’m very thankful for them.
Written by Nurul Batrisya Binti Ruzamri from PC219
The same article was published in:
Daily Express, 13 March 2023: A Step towards Achieving Career of My Dreams
