Making the Years Count: Zakiyyah’s Valedictorian Address, MA SEN/ALN 2025

Opening & Greeting
Good morning, esteemed professors, beloved DAS colleagues, respected guests, and fellow graduates.

My name is Zakiyyah, and I have to be honest, being up here as your valedictorian is humbling. My immediate reaction was less ‘I earned this’ and more ‘…Are you sure?’ But I quickly realised that’s not what this is about. The power of our time here isn’t in any one extraordinary journey, but in how our ordinary stories of challenge, growth, and perseverance, weave together to form something remarkable. It is our shared, common experience that connects us most. Let me tell you a little of my own ordinary story.

Early Journey & Turning Point
I spent 10 years in a madrasah, six in primary and four in secondary. After that, I studied Pharmaceutical Science at Nanyang Polytechnic. It trained me to dispense medication, but somehow, I found myself dispensing worksheets instead. I then worked as a Special Needs Officer in a primary school for close to six years, completing a Diploma in Special Education along the way. Intrigued not just by lesson plans but by the minds behind them, I went on to pursue a part-time degree in Psychology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). I told myself that was it. No more studying. No more late nights.

But then, in 2019, I joined the DAS. And in this place, professional development seems to find you before you even unpack your desk. That’s how I ended up here – saying yes to the Master’s programme I once swore I would never do.

Defining Memory
If there’s one memory that shaped me, it was of my English teacher in secondary school. She photocopied an entire stack of grammar notes just for me. At the time, I didn’t value it. In fact, I lost them. Back then, I thought why does grammar matter so much? Yet sixteen years later, I still remember her kindness. And the irony is, I now teach the very subject I once struggled with.

To my fellow educators, let me say this: the small things you do matter; the extra visual card, the patient explanation, the listening ear. What feels ordinary to you could be the very thing that sparks joy in a student’s learning and stays with them for a lifetime.

Main Challenge
When I think about my biggest challenge during this programme, it wasn’t the assignments. It was simply the act of showing up.

Every week, I dragged myself, tired or not, to East Coast Coffee Bean, my ‘date spot’ with my thesis. Coffee in hand, sea view in the distance, I would type, pause, sigh, and try again. In those small rituals, I found little sparks of joy that kept me going.

But let’s be honest. For all of us, it looked like perseverance. And it was. But what was often invisible was the weight we carried alongside our papers and assignments. Real life doesn’t pause for deadlines. We brought our family worries, our personal struggles, and our health battles with us into the classroom and the library, quietly, as we kept showing up.

I know I wasn’t alone in this. Each of us carried struggles no one else could see. Yet here we are. We showed up when it was hard, we pressed on when it felt easier to quit, and we chose courage when comfort was tempting. That is why every graduate here has my deepest respect.

Acknowledgements & Ending
Before I close, I want to thank my husband for letting me have all those late-night dates at Coffee Bean with my thesis and not getting jealous. To my mum, who told him not to let me go but prayed for me anyway — thank you, Mak. And to my colleagues, who became my editors, counsellors, and cheerleaders, I am forever grateful.

I’ll end with my favourite Arabic proverb:

“الوقت كالسيف، إن لم تقطعه قطعك”
Time is like a sword; if you don’t cut it, it will cut you.

In other words, if we don’t use our time wisely, it slips away. So let’s not waste it. Let’s dare to fill it with joy because joy is not frivolous. It is strength. It is what allows us to rise above the weight of our struggles and keep going. And in a world that often feels heavy, choosing joy is one of the bravest things we can do.

So, Class of 2025, may we not just count the years, but make the years count. May we use our time to fill not only our minds with knowledge, but our classrooms with joy. May we be remembered not for the titles we hold, but for the patience we show and the lives we touch.

Thank you.