I was a shy but friendly child who disliked studying and ran away from public conversations. 20 something years later, if someone told me I would graduate top of my class, be a Visiting Scholar to University of California, San Diego, a Visiting Lecturer to London School of Public Relations in Jakarta, Indonesia, a communication specialist and a public speaker, I would have laughed and called that person crazy!
Born and raised in Bangladesh until my teenage years, I completed my high school and undergraduate studies in the USA. Always having a knack for the everything creative, from a very early age I observed my father, a respected advertising pioneer in the country, power through projects and campaigns with utmost dedication and perseverance. It inspired me to do something on my own someday.
Not being academically strong for most of my life, it was only when I started working in the corporate sector that I found my strength – it was communication. Initiating the Communication department for a leading IT firm in Bangladesh, I had to find my own footing with some guidance from my supervisor.
Hungry to learn more, I enrolled full-time in graduate studies in Journalism while still holding my full-time job. I ended up studying both Journalism and Film and Television as I was hungry to learn all I could. Unlike my undergraduate days, I was a far better student now, absorbing everything I could from class lectures and case studies to do my job better – because of which, I ended up top of my class during graduation!
My hunger to further the communication sector grew out of my colorful experience of dealing with people with poor communication skills all around me. It was a steep battle to try to imbue the importance of proper communication among my peers and colleagues; a battle that I won.
The need to recognize the field of communication in Bangladesh happened very late. I do consider myself lucky to have been a part of it from the start, as it helped me become a part of the evolution. Wanting to give back, I ended up becoming a full-time lecturer at a private university in Bangladesh, sharing all my knowledge about public relations and internal, external, intercultural, and interpersonal communication, with the bright young minds of the country. All the while, I continued to practice my specialty in many capacities within the university.
As a communications specialist, I have been blessed to be a part of many research projects, publications, events, local and international panel discussions, local and international training programs, and international partnerships. I have had the fortune of consulting on various local and global projects, advising on internal communications for organizations, and in creating audiovisual content for many of these organization.
As community and youth development are my passion, I always look forward to projects through which humanity is bettered. I wish to believe that my journey in this field has only just begun, and I have a lot more positive contributions to make to this world.
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