Feature

The best of times

Hammad Ali

Photo: Sadiqur Rahim

IT was the summer of 2006, with 6 months left before I finished undergrads. Most of my peers were already looking for jobs, but I preferred being lazy. Somewhere at the back of my mind the germ of applying for graduate school did exist, but even that seemed far away in the horizon for the moment.

Then I started hearing buzz around campus, about The Daily Star launching a supplement targeted exclusively for university students. I still had no idea where this would lead, but some of my teachers suggested I get in touch with the editor of this new supplement, and see if I could become the representative for BRAC University.

It was thus that I made Shahnoor Wahid, who since that first meeting has been Shahnoor bhai to me. About a month after we first met, he asked me to come on board the editorial team. I could still write, but my main responsibility would be to help him manage the entire operations of the magazine. I am glad I accepted the offer.

Being part of the Campus team gave me the chance to meet people from all walks of life, quite literally. While dealing with writing assignments from my peers and juniors, I also had to interact with Vice Chancellors, writers and on one occasion, His Excellency the British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury.

It was not all a breeze, for sure. I also remember late nights spent editing piles of work, running around in the last moment for a good cover story, or being stuck in traffic worried about being late for an interview with someone. At the moment they seemed a big deal, but looking back it seems selective amnesia takes care of that. All that seems to matter now are the successful issues, the words of praise and the feeling of being a team the first editorial team of Star Campus. I am still glad I agreed to meet Shahnoor bhai three years ago, and will always fondly cherish my time with Star Campus and The Daily Star.

(The writer is currently pursuing his Masters degree at the University of British Columbia.)