Liya Rafeeq didn’t open an Instagram account until her Grade 12 Kerala Higher Secondary Examination (HSE) was over. She never had time for social media or for sharing viral videos – a fad among teenagers her age. Instead, in a methodical way, she did self-study, and with hard work and consistency, became the UAE topper with 99.67 per cent.
Liya, a student of Model Private School in Abu Dhabi, has also won a full scholarship from New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and is hoping to get the Golden Visa.
It had been two years of determined effort from the youngster, especially after losing four marks in her first-year exams.
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In the Kerala HSE system, marks of six subjects in the first (Grade 11) and second year (Grade 12) are combined to reach a final score. While Liya lost four marks (three in English and one in physics) in the first year to reach 596 out of 600 marks, she scored a perfect 100 in all six subjects of Grade 12 to secure a grand score of 1,196.
“In the first year, I wasn’t expecting to lose four marks but maybe two or three. When I lost four marks, then my aim was not to lose any more marks in the second year. I worked hard. I was expecting to actually not lose any marks, but when I did, I was very happy. I had tears of joy,” she told Khaleej Times after scoring a centum in English, Hindi, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science this year.
“I try my best to take in all the information that I can in the classroom, and write as many notes as I can. I am not the type of a person to study every day of the academic year, but when it comes to exams, I work as hard as I can.”
Liya maintains a fine balance between study and personal life, including extra-curricular activities like art, painting, public speaking like debating, and journaling.
‘Social media isn’t entertaining’
Liya isn’t hooked to her smartphone or social media.
“I have a phone. It’s my sister’s old phone. I just use it from time to time, but I am not dependent on social media. I’m not attached to it. I grew up without much of social media. I didn’t find it entertaining. When I was in school, my parents didn’t allow me to have a social media account. I would have WhatsApp, nothing else. It was only after Grade 12 that I started my Instagram account,” she said.
Liya goes to bed early, by 9 or 10 pm, and is up by 5 am, but catches a good 10-12 hours of sleep on weekends. A consistent topper in her academic years, she never felt a need for coaching or tuition.
“I did self-study. My mother always said that the time spent in going for tuitions can be utilised to study at home. I mean, if you can do it by yourself that’s amazing.”
NYUAD, a dream university
In her last summer vacation, she started researching about different colleges to pursue courses in art, design, and technology. She was fascinated by the offerings at NYUAD.
“It was like my dream university with everything I wanted. It has amazing study away opportunities. So, I could explore the world as I studied. There are amazing faculty and trained professionals. It has such a diverse student body with people from all around the world. It’s everything I wanted in a college experience.”
Liya applied as an early decision student and excelled in the university’s rigorous selection process to win a full scholarship.
“The process was hard and when I got the acceptance letter, I was over the moon, on cloud nine. The amount of effort you put into making that dream come true, and when you see that right in front of your eyes, just like: ‘Congratulations, you have made it’. It was a beautiful experience,” Liya said about getting an acceptance letter from the university to study interactive media and design.
She has found strong support from her father Rafeeq, a mechanical engineer, mother Sumayya Dirar, a homemaker, and elder sister Haifa.
“I will be happy to get the Golden Visa. I want to start my own venture one day,” Liya underlined.
I don’t study all the time: Second topper
Liya’s best friend Ashitha Shajir has got the second-best marks in the country at 1,195 marks.
“In the first year, I lost one mark each in English and physics, and in the second year, I lost three marks in English. I was hoping to get better marks in English. I may go for an evaluation.”
Though she has not got a phone for herself, Ashitha uses her mother’s mobile whenever needed.
“I don’t study all the time. I am not so consistent. I don’t have any notes. I study hard as exams approach. I read and study. I practised maths a lot. With God’s grace, I got good marks.”
Her father is an accountant while her mother is a homemaker. She has a younger brother and a younger sister.
“I am not sure but I may be pursuing medical entrance coaching. I may do it in Kerala. I will be happy to get a Golden Visa. It will be a good thing,” Ashitha noted.