Karachi: Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry recently organized an essay competition open for all M.B.B.S and B.D.S students at the College. Prof. Dr. Navid Rashid Qureshi (Principal Dental) proposed the idea of the activity and supervised the event which was organized and executed by Dr. Shumaila Iqbal Moosa (Asst. Prof. and Head of Dept. of Dental Materials). A total of 37 students participated in the competition from pre-clinical and clinical batches. Topics were announced at the time of competition, an activity designed to encourage young students to voice their opinions. The students were given 1 hour to write a 750-1000 word essay. Four senior faculty members were assigned to mark and judge each essay. The identity of the participants remained anonymous and each essay was coded for fair judgment by the organizing team. Winning prize of amount Rs.5000 was awarded to Ms. Habiba Asim, student of 1st Prof B.D.S for her essay on the topic “How to choose a career specialty”. The purpose of the competition was to help and encourage the students in improving their writing skills. This competition provided them a platform where they shared their views and by writing their thoughts they were able to explore rationales of their opinions. Certificates were awarded to all the participants in the prize distribution ceremony held after the event. Following are a few extracts from the winning entry: “In the modern era or to call it the era of advancement and technology, deciding the career and the future of one’s life has become a real great challenge, because one erroneous decision can lead to the risk and endangerment of one’s future. While deciding the career, a person has to overcome pressures such as peer pressure, family pressure, financial pressure and most of all the social pressure.” “Education is what teaches a person the difference between good and bad, it builds and nurtures the mind, it opens the stitched up and controversial thinking, broadening up the mind.” Furthermore she wrote: “People usually get confused after finishing their high schools that whether they want to continue their academic life, that should they go to universities and what career or what do they want to do with their lives. So the basic rule, when your confidence tremors at a certain stage is to look up to your adults or career counselors for professional advice. Or if one is not comfortable at other’s judgement search on internet look up to things that you can do and that will make your life successful.”
