DEH Orientation Spring 2025
On February 13, 2025, ULAB’s Department of English and Humanities arranged its Orientation Program to welcome the incoming batches of BA and MA students for the Spring 2025 term. The theme of the event was “New Beginnings” and the Orientation Speaker was an alumna from the MA program, Ms. Ummay Marzan Jui, Program Implementation Manager at Maiya School.
The event began with a speech by the Pro Vice Chancellor of ULAB, Professor Jude Genilo who welcomed students to the new chapter of their lives at the university. He spoke about ULAB’s goals for its students and the various opportunities available to them. Following this was a virtual welcome speech by the Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Professor Kaiser Haq, who addressed the moral and academic duties of the incoming students towards themselves and the country. Next, the Head of the Department and Associate Professor, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, shared her words with the students on making the most of their time at ULAB and developing into individuals to be proud of. She asked the students to practice the virtues of tolerance and patience. Ms. Rahman then requested the faculty members of DEH who introduced themselves to the students.
In her speech, the Orientation Speaker, Ms. Ummay Marzan Jui, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to ULAB for its role in shaping her into the person she is today. She is a dedicated advocate of gender equality and her role as Program Implementation Manager at Maiya School allows her to create initiatives for Rohingya refugee girls and Bangladeshi women. As an alumna, Ms. Jui shared how DEH gave her the space and comfort to hone her skills, taught her how to network and helped her develop her confidence which have been crucial in her career as a journalist and researcher. She urged the students to make the most of their time at ULAB and the opportunities that the university provides its students and looks forward to seeing who they become at the end of their journey.
A video compilation, K. M. Kaisarul Islam (Batch 242), was screened to recap DEH events in 2024 to offer incoming students a glimpse of the department’s activities.
Ms. Neha Ghose, Lecturer and Advisor to the English Zone, was then invited on stage to introduce the English Zone and its aim to provide students with any assistance they might need. She concluded her speech with an invitation to visit the English Zone whenever the new students required help.
S. M. Mehedi Hasan (Batch 251) from the MA program then shared his experiences at the department as a newcomer, which was followed by a speech by Mahima Rahman Mithila (Batch 251) from the BA program, who talked about her student life so far at DEH. Both freshers spoke effusively about the wonderful experience so far.
The cultural segment continued with a performance by Shreya Goswami (Batch 241) who rendered the song, “Phagun haway haway” by Rabrindranath Tagore as a tribute to the first day of spring. Then K.M. Kaisarul Islam of Batch 242 performed his beautiful, original song, “Dotola Restora.”
Graduates of the Scholars Program, Riya Rani Saha and Akbar Fida Ononto of Batch 211, were awarded their certificates. Akbar Fida Ononto was then invited on stage to share his experience of completing the Program so that incoming students too could avail the opportunity, urging them to join and take advantage of the chance to learn at a more advanced level.
Lecturer at DEH, Ms. Irtifa Hasan, gave the vote of thanks and the event ended with a photo session.
The program was organized by Batches 241, 242, and 243 with the assistance of their Batch Managers, Ms. Irtifa Hasan, Mr. Muntasir Mamun, Dr. Mahadhi Hasan, and Mr. Golam Kader Zilany. The event was hosted by Fatima Tarannum (Batch 242, BA) and Rudaiba Mahbub (Batch 243, MA).
Report by Fatima Tarannum (242013068)
