Friday, October 10, 2008

Good Grades… Pros and Contras?

Students always strive for excellence in their studies, regardless of any level. But does it worth it, in terms of life successfulness, job, and family? What can excellent result promise students? i would say it helps, perhaps, in the primary and secondary level of school. For primary students, good result may enable them to be enrolled in a boarding school or at least a good school. Theoretically and technically perhaps, good schools will yield good products in terms of studies and intelligence, BUT not in terms of moral and behaviour, sometimes boarding school students are very bad in moral. For the secondary students, outstanding results enable them to grab programme that they want at university level especially medicine.

Once at university level, i personally do not think that good results bother too much when it comes to seeking jobs. It is not that grades do not play any roles, but i would rather think that the grade only influences a little bit in getting job. It does not need to be very high. It is enough to score above 3.0 only. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not saying this because my grade is not so good. It’s just that i want to tell others what i personally think.

To me, good grade just satisfy us of our excellence and intelligence. But when it comes to job application, some employers don’t want academically excellent students. Some of them think that excellent students cannot work very well with people. They just can do work on their own independently which is otherwise in work environment. Working must involve communication with people. So what’s the point of having good result if we can’t work with others? Besides, some employers also think that intelligent students will demand a lot if accepted to work in their organizations especially salary wise. So why do they want to hire good-grade-students if they other choices?

In my opinion, students must balance between academic and co-curricular activities. i’m saying this not because i’m quite active in university but i’m speaking this as general. Most of employers really look into what we had joined in university. Our involvement in co-curricular activities indirectly shows that we can work in groups, we are not bookworms, we can balance the priority of studies and co-curriculum, and what not. Those are the values that most employers are looking for nowadays. But, if you have good grade and also good involvement in co-curriculum, that’s even better and can be a bonus mark for you.

So, in short words, good grades do not promise you excellent job and life. There must be elements of co-curriculum for the interviewers to appreciate you. So, my advice, don’t just study and study. Enjoy your life in university. You will regret it some day if you don’t (Enjoy here means join many programmes, not enjoy purposelessly J). i leave the questions above for you to answer. Again, this is just my opinion. You have absolute rights to agree or not.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Alhamdulillah.. now it's over

The AGM for ScienceSS ended succesfully yesterday. Guess what happened! i won the post. i dunno should wat i feel. But wat i know is, my emotion is mixed between happy and sad. Happy because i got the post and sad because i got the post also. if u've read my previous entry, perhaps u might know well why i'm feeling so.

Wateva it is, the students have spoken. They have chosen their desired leaders. By hook or by crook, i've to cope with the results. Thank all the voters. As in my speech yesterday, it does not matter to me who u vote for, but wat matters to me is that u've done ur resposibility to choose ur leaders. Without the voters, there will be no election, no leaders and no democracy. Or maybe should i say, congratulations, because not many are willing to do so. i myself didn't go for the previous general election. But at least i've an excuse coz i haven't registered yet. heheh.. very lame excuse.

So, since the students have given me the trust, amanah, responsibility, confidence and wat-so-ever, then i shall not or must not abuse the trust they have given. InsyaAllah, i'll try to run ScienceSS as the best as i could. Please guide me if i'm wrong and lost...

Dilemma...

That’s the most correct and suitable word to describe me now, i guess. Initially, i was planning to finish my studies within three and half years which means i have one semester left after this semester ends. Suddenly, my name came up as a candidate for president/vice president 1 for my programme’s society which is Science Students’ Society (ScienceSS). That means, i cannot proceed my plan and seem to finish my studies within four years, as others do. Before the election, i’ve told the president that i don’t want to be nominated for the post since i have one semester left.

But then, after the preliminary election, he called me again and said that my name had been nominated by the students for the post. He asked me, “Are u sure u want to finish in three and half years?”. Then i said, “If it is allowed to do so, i will. But it’s not confirmed yet”. Before this, there’s an issue about shortening the study period, but recently i heard that it is allowed to do so because IIUM has signed MoU with the JPA; something like that perhaps. i wasn’t really clear about that too actually, but that’s what i understood. So, there’s a chance for me to shorten the study period but i hadn’t confirmed the thing with the deputy dean. So, that’s why i said to the president “if it is allowed” and “it’s not confirmed yet” because i still couldn’t confirm the fact.

The situation put both of us in dilemma, whether to put my name as a candidate or not. From the bottom of my heart, i didn’t want my name to be nominated. Then, his vice asked me one tricky question, “If we do not call and ask u about this and we juz put ur name as a candidate, and let’s say u win. Will u resign or elongate ur study period?”. Then i said, if i’m elected, i guess i have to abort my planning i.e elongate my study period. To me, it is quite irresponsible to let down the trust and confidence that other students had given. Besides, it is juz not my style to neglect my responsibility although i’ve done so unconsciously. But consciously, i don’t think i’m able to do so. Then the vice said, “That’s what we wanted to hear from u. OK, now the discussion finished. Ur name will be on the paper”.

Oh mannn.. he tricked me with the question. Now i’m trapped. i went back to my room and kept thinking about that over and over, but my heart still stood on the same planning that i don’t want to be nominated. The day after, i received a letter saying that i will be nominated. At that time, it’s really getting into me. Three days later, i got a massage that i had to give manifesto speech the day after. Oh shooot, i wasn’t expecting this. ‘Nak x nak’, i had to deliver the speech, but very ‘sempoily’ because i did not prepare anything and i juz talked wateva crossed my mind. And i was wearing round neck T-shirt, jeans and slippers! Is that how a leader should look like? Actually, i did it purposely because i wanted students to see me negatively so that i do not win in the election and i even asked some of my friends not to vote me. Two days later, election began for two days; the election was to choose two out of three candidates to be brought to Annual Grand Meeting to be voted again for president/vice president 1 posts.

After two days, the vote counting began and i was really nervous to see whether my effort works or not. The count finished, but unfortunately my effort didn’t work at all, i think. i got the highest vote which is 415! The other two candidates got 354 and 319 votes. Now, it’s confirmed that i’ve to finish my studies in four years. It’s juz a matter that i will be the president or vice in the AGM this evening, as of i’m writing this (supposed to be posted on 22/9/08). Still, from the bottom of my heart, i want to be the vice because i think i’ll not be able to carry out president’s responsibility very well. But if the students still choose me, maybe i get me wrong. Everyone has his/her own perception towards people, maybe people see me in a different way from the way i see myself? Who knows?

i juz leave diz evening’s happening to the destiny. Wateva happens, perhaps that’s the best path Allah has arranged for me. Maybe Allah wants me to enhance my self esteem and confidence, and leadership skills. Maybe Allah gave me the responsibility so that i won’t be this nervous to accept it ahead. Maybe i’ll discover something new and valuable for me. Maybe this is the type of fate that cannot be altered and had been ordained by Allah ‘fii lauhin mahfuzh’. Wallahua’lam…. Only Allah knows… Juz wait and see what happens diz evening…

To be continued…

Comeback

This is the second time i created my blog account. i used to have one, but was terminated because of inactivity. i dunno when it happened, suddenly when i type my blog URL, it showed that "Blog not found". oh crap, now i have to start all over again.