Recently, a graduate from UNBSJ sent The Baron a letter to share a few fond memories of his experiences on our campus. He asked if we would should the letter with our fellow students and writes about a dilemma that he was faced with when he had an opportunity to work, as well as an opportunity to complete a second degree. Read about Zaheer Abbas’ story as he writes to us from the University of Birmingham:
Greetings from Birmingham, UK!
Helloooooooooooooo UNBSJ,
I am very excited to write for the Baron from Birmingham, England. When I look back, everything began at UNBSJ. I had come to UNBSJ from UNBF to earn a minor in political science. This was in the fall of 2010. The minor transitioned into a full fledged second bachelor’s degree with a major in political science. On the day of my graduation as a mechanical engineer, I received my first interview phone call. I was invited for an interview with the municipal government in Edmonton. At the end of my spring semester in 2011, I was offered a position of a junior engineer within the infrastructure services section of the City of Edmonton.
I was faced with a dilemma, a tempting job offer on one side and my second bachelor’s degree on the other. I struggled to choose between the two. So I said to myself, I would do both. What a journey it has been. I remained a full time student at UNB last academic year and I was not physically present in the class room. I demonstrated my willingness to learn and the university supported me through the College of Extended Learning. At the City of Edmonton, I designed the architecture of an electronic maintenance program and implemented it with the support of my team.
In the summer of 2012, I received my unconditional acceptance with a modest scholarship from the University of Birmingham. My professors at UNBSJ inspired me in their classes and it was philosophy and political science which compelled me to apply to law school.
These days I am juggling the unthinkable. I am a full time student of law at the University of Birmingham. I am registered in two online courses, one from the University of New Brunswick and one from the University of Manitoba. My goals this year is to graduate from UNBSJ with my B.A. in the spring of 2013 and hopefully finish with the first designation in the year one, of my law program. I hope my hypothesis works out this semester. I will write to you next term and share the results.
I might be good at making compelling arguments; one thing I am not, is rich. My dad died when I was five and my grandmother and my mother brought me up. My step dad encouraged the idea of higher education and I feel fortunate and blessed to be a Canadian. A decade ago, chances of me, making this far, were close to none. I once stood where you stand today and I keenly read the student publications. Think big, think global and don’t doubt yourself. As they say, hard work, dedication and passion always leads to something good. I hope you would agree that it is true.
As I end this article, I am not sure if I am really lucky or if I am really blessed.
Good Luck in the semester this year and cheers from across the Atlantic.
Zaheer Abbas
Year 1 – LLB-for Grad – University of Birmingham
Year 4 –B.A. Politics – UNBSJ
