I've written a letter to the Principal, Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban. It's all sealed in a stamped envelope and should find its way some 5 km away in the bag of a postman from tomorrow, when it'll be posted. I had it ready this afternoon, but Ramadhan being what it is for me, I'm a bit lazy to go out some 500 meters to the nearest post box to-day.
What got me to that letter was another letter earlier from the Registrar's Office, UiTM Shah Alam. It's addressed to my daughter, who's at work in Putrajaya. So I took the liberty to open it, just in case there was something in it requiring urgent response, when I could just call her.
It wasn't what I expected, but was a really nice piece of news for all of us in the house, and my daughter in Putrajaya, of course. The letter says my daughter has been awarded the Best Student Prize for her LLB (Hons) class of 2009, to be presented during the coming October Convocations.
This makes it two Best Student Awards in consecutive years for our little girl. And that's not to forget the Vice Chancellor Award she won for her Diploma course. Three in seven years ! Wow !
Dekna and her siblings in the Capital were, naturally, quickly contacted to share the good news. A small cash prize will come with it from the University this time. Last year it was RM 1,000 worth of books. But those are not as important as the achievements, to me at least. There had not been any indication in all the years that Dekna was studying that these sort of Awards were coming. She was just a normal, hardworking pupil at school, and later a normal, hardworking undergraduate at university. She always brought her work home, but it didn't seem extraordinary. I was told girls are all like that, not at all like the boys, and I have three of them to lend credence to that opinion.
It struck me yesterday that her stay at the Tunku Kurshiah College , where she was selected to attend school for five years, must have had a role to play in instilling this hard-working ethic that Dekna carries to this day, even at work. Last weekend she lugged a hefty briefcase full of her work back home for what should have been a rest period.
I thought that it might be a good idea if I write a bit about Dekna's Awards to the Principal of her old school, firstly to record my appreciation for what they have instilled in my daughter during those impressionable early years, and secondly, maybe I could give some sort of inspiration for the teachers there in their often thankless jobs.
I wanted to write in English, but changed my mind because it felt unnecessarily stilted. So it's in Bahasa Melayu. But in a couple of instances I couldn't resist inserting a few choice phrases for extra impact, or so I thought. It's all about scholarship and studying opportunities, and impressions and gratitude and appreciation, but all in four pages.
Secretly, I'm proud of the letter, and in fact felt relieved after completing it. The education of our youngest child also seems complete, now. At least at the present stage, for the time being.
Education doesn't stop.
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