The second Ramadan I was in the States, I was studying for my comprehensive exam, a test that a doctoral student has to pass after finishing all the courses and before starting to work on the doctoral thesis.  Comprehensive exams were given 3 times a year, i.e., once per semester at fixed dates. Since I had finished my courses in the spring semester, I decided to sit for the comprehensive exam that was scheduled in the summer and which coincided with Ramadan. I only had six weeks to get ready for the comprehensive exam. Six weeks were relatively short compared to the amount of time other doctoral students spent preparing for the comprehensive exam.  I had to review all the courses that I had studied before (all the books and handouts) and had to take 3 comprehensive exams in three areas: reading, applied linguistics, and statistics and measurement.  I thought that if I postponed my comprehensive exams few more months, I would relax, and never study very seriously until few weeks before the exams. My friend Mona was worried about me. She did not want me to take my comprehensive exams in the hot summer and in Ramadan in particular. She thought if I did, I would fail.  I told her that I was determined to take my comprehensive exams in Ramadan.  If so, she advised me not to fast, as she thought that it would be hard to study and fast at the same time.  But I was determined to do both in order for Allah to reward me and help me pass due to the blessings of Ramadan. 

Studying for my comprehensive exams was a great challenge and I liked that challenge and enjoyed it very much. I prepared my study schedule, and decided to study day and night. Studying and fasting was part of the challenge as the weather was extremely hot and the fasting hours were too long as well (from 3:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). Having experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue and fainting in the previous summer, I took some precautionary measures to cope with those hardships.  I used to leave my apartment around 9 a.m., walk in the shade, go to library where I had a study carrel, and spend the whole day there.  In addition, the library was cool and quiet. I had a prayer mat and a pair of slippers at the library. I would study from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and would take short prayer breaks.  At 8:00 p.m. I would go home, cook a quick dinner, break my fast, and chat with my roommate Samira for a while.  I used to take a short nap until 10 p.m. then study until 3 a.m. and so on. 

Another challenge was that my advisor was supposed to write the questions in the area of reading. Unexpectedly, she decided to give me a take-home exam instead of an in-class exam. So she gave me several challenging questions, which required lengthy answers.  I had to go to the library and look for references (books and journal articles) to answer the questions.  It took me two weeks to answer those questions and I ended up writing a 55-page research paper. 

In addition to studying for my comprehensive exams, I was taking a typing course at the community college. I wanted to learn to touch-type so that I could learn to use the computer later and type my thesis myself.  I used to go to the community college 3 times a week for 2 hours.  The course lasted for a whole month. Add to that the commuting time. 

The six-week study period was over and it was time to take my comprehensives. Since passing the comprehensive exam was detrimental, I was extremely nervous and did not sleep very well the night before.  I was up early and was at the College of Education in time.  The comprehensive exam was supposed to be held at the auditorium.  As I was waiting for the elevator, Dr John Connor saw me and could tell that I wشas very nervous. So he greeted me, smiled at me and said, “You’ll be fine, Reema”.  His smile brightened my day and helped me relax.  When I got to the auditorium, a large table was set outside with free coffee, tea, juice and cookies for the students. The students helped themselves to the snacks and drinks before entering the auditorium.  I was reciting some verses of the Koran as I was entering the auditorium. I took my seat and soon I was handed my test booklet.  As soon as read the questions, all my fears vanished. Each question was timed, and the given time was the exact amount of time needed for the answer. No time to think and no time to rewrite the answer if for some reason I decided to redo something. The comprehensive exam started at 9 and lasted for 3 hours. I was able to answer all the questions perfectly well. The following day, my second comprehensive exam went well. When my committee members graded my answered, they found that my answers were impressive. They all expressed their admiration. I was thrilled when my advisor told me that I passed and as a treat, she took me out for ice cream.