Labonnya Islam was different. She decided to pursue her undergrad degree in MCJ even after completing her school in a science background, simply because she felt more drawn towards society, people, and communication.

She remained committed to her passion, and now she is studying in the USA, that too as a fully funded Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA).

Paving the path

As Labonnya explained, her goal was clear from the beginning: she wanted to establish her career in academia. In pursuit of that goal, she completed both her undergraduate and master’s from Bangladesh University of Professionals.

From her story, one thing was confirmed: her success today is directly credited to her dedication from the start. She maintained a strong CGPA throughout her entire academics. Both her undergraduate and master’s results, which are CGPAs of 3.94 and 3.86, confirm her consistent dedication.

It was in October 2024 when she was in the position to pursue the life that she had been working towards, but at that time she simply felt she was not ready to stop learning. She felt that before she started teaching, she wanted to complete her learning process, and that led her to applying for a second master’s at universities in the USA.

The application process

She decided in October 2024 and started working on it within November 2024. She sat for the IELTS exam with only 15 days of preparation. She built her application entirely by herself from scratch within just four months.

For most, it sounds nearly impossible to apply to USA universities within just four months, whereas many take even a year for this preparation. But it was not impossible for Labonnya. In fact, her whole process sounded quite organised.

In October 2024, she decided that she wanted to pursue her second master’s abroad. Then, within a month, she started her IELTS preparation with Cambridge practice books and with available YouTube videos.

Parallelly, she researched how a Statement of Purpose (SOP) should be written and reached out to professors for recommendation letters.

Then, in the first week of December 2024, she sat for the IELTS exam. In that month, she wrote her SOP and finished listing the universities she wanted to apply to.

By January, with an IELTS score of 7.5 and a carefully crafted application, she was done applying to universities.

And then, in March, she started hearing back from multiple universities.

Many consider these steps so carefully that the process often takes one to two years, but Labonnya’s swift plan made everything manageable. It is worth noting that she did everything by herself, without any help from an agency.

At this point in the conversation, Labonnya boldly said, “One thing I always tell students is that, for fully funded graduate programmes in the U.S., you generally do not need to go through agencies. In fact, universities expect applicants to prepare and submit their own applications.”

What made her application stand out

Many need to apply for a scholarship separately, but Labonnya’s case was different: she mentioned in her main application that she wanted to be considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Her application was strong enough that she secured the scholarship before getting enrolled at Northern Illinois University.

Now, many might wonder what was so strong in her application. I asked the same question: was it academics or ECA?

She said it was a combination of both. In her undergrad years, she worked as a research assistant on multiple research projects. She was engaged in departmental activities. Alongside these, she completed an internship on an AI research project. Here, she made clear that she did not pile up certificates of her achievements; she simply kept all her experiences aligned with her SOP.

While talking about SOP, she cleared up a misunderstanding: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that a Statement of Purpose (SOP) is simply a summary of your CV.

In reality, an SOP should explain why you are applying to that specific programme, how your previous academic and research experiences have prepared you for it, and what your future goals are. It should have a clear narrative that connects your past experiences with your future.”

Current life

Labonnya is currently studying at Northern Illinois University, and as part of her scholarship programme, she works as a teacher for a public speaking course there.

Her scholarship covers her entire tuition fee. Additionally, she receives a monthly stipend, which helps her to live a flexible life in the USA.

Another thing worth noting is that Labonnya said that unlike Bangladesh, MCJ is highly valued in the USA. People from this major can easily pursue their careers in different sectors like health communication, political communication, media studies, journalism, marketing, or research.

Lastly, when asked if she wanted to do anything differently, she simply said no, because she believes she progressed at the right pace.

Behind everything, there is still a little girl who remains committed to the career which was inspired by her parents, both of whom were teachers. Labonnya still wants to pursue her career in academia, but before that, she wants to do a PhD first.

For future GTA applicants

“Start building your research profile early and maintain a strong CGPA. Look for opportunities to get involved in research projects, internships, or relevant extracurricular activities that align with your academic interests.

Most importantly, don’t focus on collecting certificates, focus on gaining meaningful experiences that tell a consistent story about your interests and future goals. Those are the things that truly strengthen a graduate school application.”