Event
Service to the Nation
Srabonti Narmeen Ali
A throng of Scholastica Alumnus of all ages
-- ranging from college students who were back for summer
vacation, to established and successful career-people -- walked
through STM (Syed Tanweer Murshed) Hall on Thursday, July
29, 2004 to celebrate the launching of the school's first
Alumni Association get-together.
Organisers
Samir Ahmed (A-Level batch of '01), Ashiq Alam (O-Level batch
of '99), and Shaat-el Elias (A-Level batch of '01), worked
alongside with Faria Mustafa from the Corporate Office, Anuza
Haque, Manager of the Chairperson's office, Fazla Rabbi, Assistant
to the Chairperson, Shahana Parveen from the Finance Director's
Office and Saira Choudhury, to put this evening together.
Sponsored by Transcom, the event was in danger of being postponed
due to the current flood situation in Bangladesh.
"It
just didn't seem right for us to be celebrating while the
country is going through such turmoil," said Yasmeen
Murshed, Chairperson and founder of Scholastica.
Rather
than "celebrate" in the midst of such suffering,
the organisers decided to turn the evening into a charitable
event. Not only were donation boxes were stationed next to
the registration desk, but the "gala dinner," they
had elaborately planned, was cancelled. Instead, light refreshments
were served after the launching ceremony and all the proceeds
from ticket sales will go to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
"After
much thought we came to the conclusion that we should meet
tonight but do so in a spirit of community feeling and sympathy
for the loss which so many are suffering," said Murshed.
"Thus we decided to forgo the elaborate dinner which
was planned."
"It
sort of justifies the grand scale of the event, just knowing
that all the money is going towards the relief and aid of
flood victims," says a student from the O-level batch
of '82. "I was impressed with the way Scholastica has
grown. It's beyond my imagination. When I was in school, it
was a one-storied house in Dhanmondi next to the Abahoni field.
Our economics room was the size of a small dressing room.
But we really had the best time of our lives in those classrooms.
I felt a bit out of place in this new and shiny building."
As
out of place as some people may have felt in the new building,
the launching ceremony of the Scholastica Alumni Association
definitely proved that those "good old days" were
not forgotten. MC for the evening, Anami Karim (O-level batch
of '98) began the evening by announcing a presentation of
snapshots and slides from the formative Scholastica years.
Giggles and muffled laughter from the audience indicated that
the presentation did indeed bring back fond memories for some
of the older students.
After
the slide show trip down memory lane, two Alums from the O-level
batch of 1978 -- the first batch of graduates ever -- Farah
Kabir and Kazim Ziauddin said a few words about the school
in their day.
"I
do have to say that the only problem I have with Scholastica
is that it has prevented Yasmeen Murshed from continuing her
teaching," said Kabir towards the end of her speech.
"For those of you who have never had the opportunity
of being in Yasmeen Apa's classroom, you really missed out."
A
tremendous and enthusiastic round of applause followed these
words as Anami asked an emotional Yasmeen Murshed to come
onstage and say a few words. Murshed encouraged her ex students
to show community spirit by donating money and taking initiative,
like the three organisers did by building up funds from the
ticket sales of this event and donating it towards the relief
fund.
"You
are all from a privileged background," she said. "So
I ask you to think about what you have gotten from Bangladesh
and think about what you can give back. I see the Scholastica
Alumni Association as a synonym for the development for the
nation. This night is a beginning, very much like the beginning
of Scholastica itself, which for me was a vision of working
with people. We are all in this together. I am sure that the
new Alumni Association will make community service its goal
and 'Service to the Nation' its motto. Please count on all
of us here at Scholastica both as a corporate entity and as
individuals for all help and support in this effort."
In
the spirit of the event, the Alumni Association and Yasmeen
Murshed presented plaques to the people who made the most
difference in the lives of the students -- the faculty and
the staff. Overcome with emotion, the staff and faculty filed
offstage, while Anami asked Wasima Parveen, English teacher
and current Principal to say a few words about her experiences
of being a long term teacher.
"The
event was extra special for a Scholastica 'lifer' like myself
because I saw some of the people who are directly responsible
in making me the person that I am today -- my teachers,"
says Azra Salim, a former student from the A-Level batch of
1995. "Seeing all my old teachers made me feel like a
kid again. It made me proud, to be a Scholastican coming back
to attend an event like this."
The
first half of the evening slowly drew to a close as organisers
Samir, Ashiq and Shaat-el invited Yasmeen Murshed up to present
her with a plaque and asked her to help them officially launch
the Alumni Association night.
"If
this was any other occasion I would be scared to pull this
string in case there is a bucket of paint attached to it,"
she admitted to a chuckling audience. "But I have full
confidence that these three gentle, gentlemen would never
dream of doing such a thing."
Together
all four of them pulled the string hanging from the ceiling
and a shower of balloons and confetti came falling down from
the top of the stage, amid deafening applause and cheers.
A
thirty minute break followed the launching ceremony in which
refreshments were served in the canteen downstairs. After
refreshments alumnus and faculty reconvened in the auditorium
for a performance by one of Bangladesh's pioneer rock bands,
Miles. But the highlight of the event still remained in the
fact that this new born association had, in such a short time,
raised so much money for a good cause. Proceeds for this event,
including ticket sales, donations for raffle gifts and other
personal donations amounted to about Tk. 3 lakh.
Apart
from the entertainment and the "Samaritan" feel
of the evening, many people just enjoyed hanging out with
their old friends.
"Coming
back here made me realise that you can take us out of Scholastica
but you cannot take the Scholastica out of us. I can't believe
how people as grown up as we think we are, could behave like
such brats when we got together. It was like we never left
school," says Sabrina Ahmad, O-Level batch of 2000.
throng of Scholastica Alumnus of all ages -- ranging from college
students who were back for summer vacation, to established and
successful career-people -- walked through STM (Syed Tanweer
Murshed) Hall on Thursday, July 29, 2004 to celebrate the launching
of the school's first Alumni Association get-together.
Organisers
Samir Ahmed (A-Level batch of '01), Ashiq Alam (O-Level batch
of '99), and Shaat-el Elias (A-Level batch of '01), worked
alongside with Faria Mustafa from the Corporate Office, Anuza
Haque, Manager of the Chairperson's office, Fazla Rabbi, Assistant
to the Chairperson, Shahana Parveen from the Finance Director's
Office and Saira Choudhury, to put this evening together.
Sponsored by Transcom, the event was in danger of being postponed
due to the current flood situation in Bangladesh.
"It
just didn't seem right for us to be celebrating while the
country is going through such turmoil," said Yasmeen
Murshed, Chairperson and founder of Scholastica.
Rather
than "celebrate" in the midst of such suffering,
the organisers decided to turn the evening into a charitable
event. Not only were donation boxes were stationed next to
the registration desk, but the "gala dinner," they
had elaborately planned, was cancelled. Instead, light refreshments
were served after the launching ceremony and all the proceeds
from ticket sales will go to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
"After
much thought we came to the conclusion that we should meet
tonight but do so in a spirit of community feeling and sympathy
for the loss which so many are suffering," said Murshed.
"Thus we decided to forgo the elaborate dinner which
was planned."
"It
sort of justifies the grand scale of the event, just knowing
that all the money is going towards the relief and aid of
flood victims," says a student from the O-level batch
of '82. "I was impressed with the way Scholastica has
grown. It's beyond my imagination. When I was in school, it
was a one-storied house in Dhanmondi next to the Abahoni field.
Our economics room was the size of a small dressing room.
But we really had the best time of our lives in those classrooms.
I felt a bit out of place in this new and shiny building."
(From
L to R) Organisers Shaat-el Elias (O-level batch of 2001),
Ashiq Alam (O-level batch of 1999) and Samir Ahmed (A-level
batch of 2001) pose for the camera after a successful evening.
As
out of place as some people may have felt in the new building,
the launching ceremony of the Scholastica Alumni Association
definitely proved that those "good old days" were
not forgotten. MC for the evening, Anami Karim (O-level batch
of '98) began the evening by announcing a presentation of
snapshots and slides from the formative Scholastica years.
Giggles and muffled laughter from the audience indicated that
the presentation did indeed bring back fond memories for some
of the older students.
After
the slide show trip down memory lane, two Alums from the O-level
batch of 1978 -- the first batch of graduates ever -- Farah
Kabir and Kazim Ziauddin said a few words about the school
in their day.
"I
do have to say that the only problem I have with Scholastica
is that it has prevented Yasmeen Murshed from continuing her
teaching," said Kabir towards the end of her speech.
"For those of you who have never had the opportunity
of being in Yasmeen Apa's classroom, you really missed out."
A
tremendous and enthusiastic round of applause followed these
words as Anami asked an emotional Yasmeen Murshed to come
onstage and say a few words. Murshed encouraged her ex students
to show community spirit by donating money and taking initiative,
like the three organisers did by building up funds from the
ticket sales of this event and donating it towards the relief
fund.
"You
are all from a privileged background," she said. "So
I ask you to think about what you have gotten from Bangladesh
and think about what you can give back. I see the Scholastica
Alumni Association as a synonym for the development for the
nation. This night is a beginning, very much like the beginning
of Scholastica itself, which for me was a vision of working
with people. We are all in this together. I am sure that the
new Alumni Association will make community service its goal
and 'Service to the Nation' its motto. Please count on all
of us here at Scholastica both as a corporate entity and as
individuals for all help and support in this effort."
In
the spirit of the event, the Alumni Association and Yasmeen
Murshed presented plaques to the people who made the most
difference in the lives of the students -- the faculty and
the staff. Overcome with emotion, the staff and faculty filed
offstage, while Anami asked Wasima Parveen, English teacher
and current Principal to say a few words about her experiences
of being a long term teacher.
"The
event was extra special for a Scholastica 'lifer' like myself
because I saw some of the people who are directly responsible
in making me the person that I am today -- my teachers,"
says Azra Salim, a former student from the A-Level batch of
1995. "Seeing all my old teachers made me feel like a
kid again. It made me proud, to be a Scholastican coming back
to attend an event like this."
The
first half of the evening slowly drew to a close as organisers
Samir, Ashiq and Shaat-el invited Yasmeen Murshed up to present
her with a plaque and asked her to help them officially launch
the Alumni Association night.
"If
this was any other occasion I would be scared to pull this
string in case there is a bucket of paint attached to it,"
she admitted to a chuckling audience. "But I have full
confidence that these three gentle, gentlemen would never
dream of doing such a thing."
Together
all four of them pulled the string hanging from the ceiling
and a shower of balloons and confetti came falling down from
the top of the stage, amid deafening applause and cheers.
A
thirty minute break followed the launching ceremony in which
refreshments were served in the canteen downstairs. After
refreshments alumnus and faculty reconvened in the auditorium
for a performance by one of Bangladesh's pioneer rock bands,
Miles. But the highlight of the event still remained in the
fact that this new born association had, in such a short time,
raised so much money for a good cause. Proceeds for this event,
including ticket sales, donations for raffle gifts and other
personal donations amounted to about Tk. 3 lakh.
Apart
from the entertainment and the "Samaritan" feel
of the evening, many people just enjoyed hanging out with
their old friends.
"Coming
back here made me realise that you can take us out of Scholastica
but you cannot take the Scholastica out of us. I can't believe
how people as grown up as we think we are, could behave like
such brats when we got together. It was like we never left
school," says Sabrina Ahmad, O-Level batch of 2000.
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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