Maria Shamoun is a trendsetter in more ways than one. Hailing from the Quetta district, she is the first Christian female Assistant Commissioner from Balochistan and believes that she will not be alone from the community to achieve this.
To accomplish what she has, in face of heavy odds, is a testament to her strong personality. Though her soft demeanor can be disguising, her steely determination to conquer the many frontiers in life with courage and hard work is predominant in her personality.
Sharing the experiences of her journey to success with Bol News, Shamoun said, “One of the key things that must be shared with young aspirants is my journey to success. Though I eventually excelled at the higher competition exams, initially I was a shaky starter and never believed in myself because I always considered myself to be an incompetent person. I had zero information on the world affairs and did not have much interest in enhancing my general knowledge.”
But destiny had exciting things in store for Shamoun.
After she did her matriculation from Government High School, Satellite Town and her FSc in the pre-medical discipline, she took admission in BSc at the Quarry Road Degree Girls College. Later, she topped in MSc Biochemistry from the University of Balochistan and won a gold medal. That turned the tide for for Shamoun who started to believe in herself while her family members also put their weight behind her in support.
“My mother and my younger brother encouraged me to go for the civil service exams and kept on telling me that I could do it. I started my preparation for the CSS exam in August 2015 and attempted it for the first time in Feb 2016,” recalled Shamoun. “But since I had no prior guidance on what to expect and how to prepare in the exam, I could not clear it.”
In the same year, the Provincial Civil Service exams (PCS) were announced. Shamoun applied for it and sat in the exam. “Unfortunately, I again failed, with the barest of margins in general knowledge, but still managed to achieve a good score of 482.”
The PCS was totally based on social sciences while Shamoun had a different background in education. But this didn’t discourage her and she decided to stick to her guns.
“I attempted for CSS with much more vigour in 2018 but failed again,” she recalled. “In 2018 I skipped the CSS exam and went for PCS again. I was hopeful to make it this time but unfortunately fared poorly in psychology and could not make it.
Soon afterwards, Shamoun attempted another CSS exam in 2019 but missed out on the aggregate yet again. “Of course I was upset, but not disheartened. My last chance to attempt a final PCS was still at hand. I said to myself that I will not forego it because I didn’t want to repent it later. I prayed to the Almighty Allah as He always rewards hard working souls.”
True to her belief, the young lady’s last attempt at PCS saw her getting though with flying colours. “That made my dream come true of becoming an assistant commissioner. Not only that, I also topper the exam that brought me so much happiness and accolades from my people and my community,” recalled Shamoun, her face lighting up with joy and delight. “I tell one and all, and please mark my words, that if you keep trying and never give up, you can achieve whatever you aim for.”
About the future she stated, “My aim for future is to be the role model for many other young aspirants who do not believe in themselves. But my hard work and commitment helped me achieve my dream as I pursued it till the end
“Moreover, when I will get my posting, things will be clearer and I can shape my plans for the future.”
About her future aims, Shamoun said, “Hopefully when I enter the field, I would know about the challenges ahead and the course of things. But yes, one thing is for sure, that I can help motivate many others to try harder and excel in their respective fields.
“”When a person is successful and serving at a competent post, his or her words become inspiring for an entire generation. We have a very low literacy rate in Balochistan and among our community, it is even lower. But gradually, the awareness among the local Christians here is growing and they are getting more inclined in uplifting themselves and getting good education. But just primary education is not enough, we will have to give them motivation to go for the higher goals,” she concluded.
