Partnership student Maryam comes top of her year

A student who came to Bangor as part of an overseas partnership programme has come top of her year.

Maryam Khaled Ahmed Abdulla Mahmood, from Busaiteen in Bahrain, transferred to Bangor through the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), having already completed the first part of her degree in her home country.

She now graduates from Bangor with an outstanding overall result of 83.85% - the highest mark of approximately 320 final-year graduates in the Business School – and the Craig Williams Memorial Award for the best performance in any Bangor Business School degree.

The BIBF programme presented the best of both worlds for Maryam, who hopes to become an accountant. “I wanted to study abroad to earn a prestigious undergraduate degree, yet I was reluctant to leave home for four years”, says the 21-year-old, who studied the BSc in Accounting and Finance. “BIBF’s undergraduate programme enabled me to study the foundation year and the first two years of the degree in Bahrain, and then complete the final year and earn my Bachelor degree at Bangor.”

Although a world away from her native Bahrain, Maryam takes home some fond memories of Bangor. “The highlight of my year here at Bangor was exploring the surrounding area – amazing places such as Aber Falls, Snowdon and Penrhyn Castle”, she says. She also appreciates the scholarly environment that helped her achieve her exceptional results. “Bangor offers a very suitable environment for those students who truly want to focus on their studies. The lecturers and the University itself provide great support to students, and the people of Bangor made me and my fellow students feel welcome in their city.”

Maryam will now return to Bahrain, where she intends to study with the ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and gain some crucial work experience in order to achieve her ambition of becoming an accountant. And with her exceptional First Class degree, she’s part of the way there.

Publication date: 10 July 2014