Successful Scholar's comments

M. Ahmad Saleem is the Chevening Scholar from Pakistan in year 2006-07. He did his Master in Media and Mass Communication from Goldsmith College London, University of London in 2006. Here is what he says about his experience as a chevening scholar.

2005 - A year that changed our lives in ways we have yet to determine!
It was in the June of 2005 when I was amongst the lucky few that were selected for this prestigious scholarship. The Chevening Family as I like to call it, has a strong bonding and is a big network, not only nationally but internationally. The Chevening Scholarship not only brings academic prestige but also helps boost one's professional and personal lives.

This scholarship helped give shape to my life-long dreams of a degree from the United Kingdom, a country whose history and literature had always fascinated me.

I was in a state of awe for the first few weeks as I walked down the paths of history and literature. We lived in Charles Dickens's neighbourhood. The Sherlock Holmes Museum was only a few minutes away. My family and I started having teething issues once practicality set in. Masters in the UK is a grinding programme and it squeezes out every ounce of your energy. It becomes difficult to balance your family and student life. It takes a while to grow on you. Unfortunately, once you find yourselves perfectly in tune to your newly acquired life rhythm and start enjoying the new life style, it is time to fly back!

I have never walked so much in my life, and have never seen so much rain but it is only after having lived there for a while that one can appreciate sunshine after a long - rainy - grey and gloomy winter. Life, in London, makes walking an inseparable and an enjoyable part of your system. Upon our return, it is back to the life of cars, lethargy and oily food!

As a family, we unbelievably miss our never ending chores, the excruciatingly painful walks in the winter rain, our many fights.
Along with missing all this we miss our relaxed family days out in the famous and not - so - famous parks of London.
We miss being around all our wonderful friends (from around the world) that became family.

We left for London as Pakistan's Ambassadors but have returned as UK's spokespersons.