05/05/2026
๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป: ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ
โNaveen Islam Toree, DEH, ULAB
For Kifayat Jahan Zerin, studying Literature and Cultural Studies is more than just an academic choice. It is deeply connected to experience, inspiration, and personal healing.
Her love for English began in school, where she found herself naturally drawn to grammar and literature. A strong bond with her English teacher, Rumena Rahman, also played an important role in shaping that interest. Another emotional connection came from her late sister, who was also majoring in English Literature before she passed away.
โAll these connections created a deep emotional attachment to English as a subject,โ Zerin shares. โThat eventually led me to study English Literature and Cultural Studies.โ
However, her journey back to education was not simple. In 2022, Zerin was going through one of the most difficult phases of her life as her 13-and-a-half-year marriage was coming to an end. After spending years as a homemaker, many people advised her to start a small business or sell homemade food. But she wanted something different for herself.
She wanted to return to academia
For Zerin, the dream of wearing a black graduation gown had always lingered in the back of her mind. Returning to university after almost a decade was not only about getting a degree, but also about rebuilding herself with dignity and purpose.โAt that time, the only thing on my mind was survival,โ she says. โI wanted to somehow get through that phase and rebuild the strongest possible version of myself.โ
Her dedication soon showed results.
As a merit scholarship awardee, Zerin believes consistency has been one of her biggest strengths. She has remained regular, attentive, and sincere in her studies, missing only three classes in four years due to emergencies. Along with class lectures and notes, she also reads extra materials and watches online lectures to strengthen her understanding.
ULAB has also changed the way she sees literature. For her, literature is no longer only about fictional stories. It is connected to real life, psychology, identity, gender, culture, and lived experiences. Studying Cultural Studies has helped her become more open-minded and aware of different perspectives.
Alongside being a student, Zerin also works as an online English tutor. Teaching has made her more patient, confident, and responsible. It has also reminded her that learning never really ends. Sometimes, when students ask questions she does not fully know, she takes it as a chance to grow.
Beyond her academic achievements, Zerin describes herself as a woman who does not give up. She is resilient, determined, and deeply committed to becoming stronger. Bodybuilding has also become an important part of her life, helping her grow both physically and mentally. Most importantly, she is the mother of a ten-year-old boy, and she hopes to be both his inspiration and protector.
Looking back, Zerin believes that pain can sometimes become the beginning of transformation. Signing her university admission papers during such a major life change was not easy, but it became a powerful step towards a new version of herself.
Her message to other women, especially those suffering in silence, is simple but strong: do not lose faith in your own worth.
โEven if you feel broken, trapped, or alone right now, your life still matters and your future is still yours,โ she says.
For readers of ULAB Insider, Zerin leaves behind a reminder that life does not always move in a straight line. Some people begin late, some begin again, and some begin after breaking. But that does not make their journey any less meaningful.
โNever underestimate what consistency, courage, and self-belief can do,โ she says. โEven in your hardest phase, a new chapter may already be waiting for you.โ
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