Rabeeha Adburehim (left), Shaza Salim (right) and Afroz Shahana Ashraf (bottom) receive awards for topping Class XI exams last year at the Annual Prize Day 2011 function in Jeddah. – Courtesy photos Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH – Rabeeha Abdurehim, the International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) topper in the Grade XII exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), has proved what she believed: “Co-curricular activities and academics can go together.”

Rabeeha, who scored 96.2 percent in the All India Secondary School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) the results of which were announced recently, thanks Almighty Allah, her parents and teachers for her success.
“I was a little too playful, and was always scolded for being careless,” says Rabeeha, who won the best delegate award at the second annual Dar Al-Hekma Model United Nations (DAHMUN) conference last year.

“I was always a chill-out person, always happy, always with a smile on my face. My teachers always told me to keep smiling.”

Rabeeha has also won a number of debate competitions and was the captain of her school’s Blue House.

The 18-year-old girl from the southern Indian state of Kerala wanted to change people’s perceptions and preset notions. So she opted to pursue a humanities track against the advice of her friends, with her parents supporting her decision.

“My mom and dad gave me the freedom to choose, and I chose arts because that was my passion. They guide me, but it is always my decision that prevails,” she says.

“In our society taking science and becoming a doctor or an engineer is the highest achievement. I wanted to change that mentality. I took it up as a challenge and wanted to change that perception.”

Rabeeha, who is going back to India to pursue a degree in English literature, aspires to become a journalist or join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

But why these two professions?
“There are not many Muslim women taking up these professions,” was her reply.

Unlike Rabeeha, Shaza Salim, who came in second in the Grade XII exams, is taciturn by nature.

She opted for commerce because, as she says, that was her interest.
“My friends and my parents motivated me a lot,” she says.
Shaza has a lot of good words for her teachers.

“The quality of lessons they gave us was so good that we did not need any extra tuition,” she says of her teachers at IISJ.

Shaza wants to pursue her higher studies in accounts or financing here either at Dar Al-Hekma College or at the College of Business Administration (CBA) in Jeddah. Shaza also attributes her success to Almighty Allah, her parents and her teachers.

For third topper Afroz Shahana Ashraf, her school IISJ played a major part in her academic life.

“Teachers at IISJ are amazing... They were comforting during the exam preparation days. We used to contact them through email or on the phone at any time,” says Afroz, a science stream student with an interest in chemistry and physics.

“It was more than student-teacher interaction; we approached them at any time and they were always available.”

But it was her father who laid the basic foundation by tutoring her until she was in the 5th grade.

Afroz says that her parents were very supportive of her and never scolded her if she did not get good marks.

But she was a disciplined student and always made it a point to read and revise at home what was taught in class.

Afroz, who aspires to become an architect, is planning to go back to India for higher studies.
Her advice to students preparing for exams: Work hard and success will be yours.