Illiterate parents inspire Royal Education Award recipient
"I want to prove that even though parents didn’t receive formal education, their children can still excel."
KUALA NERUS -Having illiterate parents became a powerful motivation for Norimrana Mujahid Ali, 24, to strive for a better future and transform her family’s circumstances.
The recipient of the Royal Education Award at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin’s (UniSZA) 16th Idul Ilmi Convocation Ceremony, shared that her parents never had the opportunity to receive formal education due to various challenges, including family hardship.
Determined to repay her parents for their sacrifices, the Bachelor of Accounting graduate set her sights on achieving the university’s highest award as a gift to her parents.
"I want to prove that even though parents didn’t receive formal education, their children can still excel.
"I also want to repay their sacrifices and the hardship they went through in raising me and my four siblings. My mother took care of us alone in Tumpat, Kelantan, as my father worked as a street vendor in Kuala Lumpur,” she said during the convocation ceremony recently.
However, Norimrana said achieving success was no easy feat and required many sacrifices.
Throughout her four years at UniSZA, she rarely returned home, despite the relatively short distance between Terengganu and Tumpat.
"Even during semester breaks, I joined UniSZA programmes, including one in Indonesia, driven by my commitment to earn this award.
"Though it was tiring, and I missed my family, especially my mother, I persevered to make my parents proud,” said Norimrana, who now works at a leading accounting firm in the country.
Meanwhile, another recipient of UniSZA’s Royal Education Award, G. Nesalata, shared that as a Bachelor in Biomedical Science student, she had to manage her time wisely to balance academic achievements with extracurricular activities.
"Biomedical Science is quite a challenging field. Usually, students will just focus on academics in the final year to achieve good results.
"However, I remained active in sports and other extracurricular activities. I participated in several international marathons and often finished among the top participants,” she said. - BERNAMA
