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Bright Bahraini student Maryam Khaled Mahmood has brought pride to the kingdom after graduating at the top of her class at one of the oldest and most prestigious degree awarding institutions in the UK.
The 21-year-old from Busaiteen, who had completed the first three years of her accounting and finance degree at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), had transferred to Bangor University in North Wales as part of the overseas partnership programme to continue her final semester.
Ranked as a Top 350 World University, the institution registers more than 100 students every year from North, Central and South America, Asia and Europe for its specialist programmes.
The former Al Raja School student, said: “The BIBF programme presented the best of both worlds for me. I wanted to study abroad and earn a prestigious undergraduate degree but was reluctant to leave home for four years.
“BIBF’s undergraduate programme offered an ideal solution. The teaching quality and the level of support I received at both institutions were equally exceptional.”
Her hard work and eagerness to learn paid off as she graduated with an outstanding overall result of 83.85 per cent, the highest mark out of 320 final-year students from the Bangor University business college.
She was also awarded the Craig Williams Memorial Award for best performance in any business degree.
Miss Mahmood said: “It felt great, though honestly I was surprised when I first heard that I was the top student amongst all Bangor business school graduates. It was all possible by studying hard and not postponing everything to the last minute.”
Her father, Khaled, a doctor at BDF Hospital and mother, Awatef, a speech therapist, were both proud of her achievements but are not surprised as Maryam had proven her academic prowess before when she was awarded by both BIBF and National Bank of Bahrain for being top of her class in 2013 after receiving her diploma.
Miss Mahmood was also honoured with a special commendation from Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain and chairman of the Specific Council for Vocational Training (Banking Sector), for her results.
The graduate now intends to undertake the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants programme at BIBF to complement her degree with an established professional qualification.
She said: “I want to become a professional accountant and work in one of the four big accounting firms in Bahrain.”
