Youth in Action

A Bit of Inspiration

Monoshita Ayruani

A glimpse of the workshop.

It was the bright morning of July 17, 2012 when the newly inaugurated Edward M Kennedy Center in Dhanmondi was filled up with enthusiastic young people. Youth, mostly A Level graduates, were buzzing around in the hall keen to seek suggestions about their careers.

As stated by many A Level students, they face great difficulty at this stage of school. They suffer from severe dilemma, trying to figure out what exactly it is that they want to do. Or simply put, which career they intend to pursue. Most of them end up choosing for themselves, a path obliged by their guardians which often happens due to social pressure or because they are not able to figure out their passion. Therefore, students require proper guidance and support on a regular basis.

As an initiative to lend a hand to these students and help them discover their area of interest, a Career Planning session was organised by BridgeWee, the pioneer institute in helping English medium students prepare for public university admission tests in Bangladesh. The session was conducted by Mirza Salman Hossain Beg, Assistant Manager, Marketing Communications, Qubee -- an inspiring role model who had stirring stories and thrilling experiences to share.

Interestingly enough, the session began with the speaker on the front stage, tearing pages off a note-pad as he spoke; creating sheer confusion and anxiety among the participants. The uncanny moment lasted a few minutes as Hossain explained, “Opportunities in life might be scattered around you just like these paper balls. But since none of you stepped out of your comfort zone to grab and see what's in it, you might be missing out on something that could just change your life. Even worse, none of you stopped me from littering this place. Act! Unless you move out of your comfort zone and take some action, no one can help you.”

Taken aback by the moving start, Rahat, a participant, volunteered to clean up the trash. From the small act of leadership which Rahat showed, Hossain spontaneously moved on to the importance of courage and failure in life. With failure, comes experience. It is essential to acknowledge failure because otherwise, one never dares to do something new and hence, might miss out on opportunities lying out there, just like those pieces of papers.

The speaker denoted, every individual has unique experiences and thus, shares a different story. Therefore, there is a great deal for us to learn from each other. There are people who started with 'nothing' and ended up achieving heights barely expected of them. Hossain began with the example of Ovick Alam, Founder, BridgeWee. He is a 23-year-old-entrepreneur from a very humble background, who is successfully sustaining his family, and at the same time funding his own dreams. Then he talked about Mahmudul Hasan Sohag, an ordinary guy from Jamalpur, who was the first member of his family to make it to university. Not only did he graduate from BUET, he also founded Onnorokom Group which developed the electronic voting machine which is now used during the national elections of the country. Finally, he introduced Hosang Sangay. Hosang was born in a refugee camp in Tibet and all he ever dreamed of was to move out of that camp. This man went on to earn a Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard Law School. Now he is being considered by many to become the next Dalai Lama.

The participants were taught how to learn, unlearn and relearn which is the best method of learning. They were reminded that it is really not the chances they take, but the choices they make for themselves that makes things happen. The barriers are there for a reason: they make you realise how badly you want to achieve what you've prioritised. Once a dream has been planted, it is our responsibility to run towards it! With words of bravery and wisdom, the programme came to a closure. The participants were left with an inspiration to make their own choices and to chase their dreams. It is our own choices that make us who we are!

(The author is an A' Level student at Mastermind School.)

DID YOU KNOW?

Mushfiqur Rahim

Cricketer Mohammad Mushfiqur Rahim was born on 1 September 1988 (turned 24 yesterday!). In between playing cricket, Rahim studied history at the Jahangirnagar University. He was due to miss the exams for his Master's degree in April 2012 as they clashed with Bangladesh's scheduled tour of Pakistan. However, the tour was postponed and Rahim was allowed to write the exams. Before playing for the senior national team, Rahim played for Bangladesh Under-19s. He represented them in three Youth Tests and 18 Youth One Day Internationals (ODIs). Rahim trained at the Bangladesh Institute of Sports. His coach there, Mohammad Salahuddin, praised his hard work, saying, “He comes from one of the most reputed and affluent families of his district. He could have had all the comfort in the world. Instead, he has decided to shape his life through hard work. His work ethic is exemplary, and he is absolutely single-minded about pursuing his goals being successful in cricket and career. Mind you, he is academically very sound too. He has not gotten distracted and hasn't lost focus. His level of determination is much higher than the average trainee and he carries himself with dignity. He is very polite and disciplined.” Rahim is, now, the captain of the Bangladeshi National Cricket Team and is preparing for the upcoming Twenty20 World to be held in Sri Lanka this month!

Information Source: Internet