Student of the Month – October

Ribaat Student of the Month – October 2020 

Kelly Legere-Gallant

            Kelly Legere-Gallant is a mom of two from Moncton, New Brunswick, which is located in the heart of Acadia on the east coast of Canada. She loves to do outdoor activities with her kids like gardening, camping, swimming, biking, skating and cross-country skiing. She works as a project coordinator and educational assistant but identifies herself as a student of sacred knowledge.        

            Shortly after embracing Islam, Kelly spent six years abroad in northwest Africa pursuing and teaching Islamic studies. Through Anse Tamara Gray’s online lectures, Kelly felt inspired to pursue her secular studies in education and completed a college certification in early childhood education. She also became an official Ribaat student in 2019 when she enrolled in the Companions class.     

            “I would love to continue studying and go on to pursue the Ribaat Teacher Certification eventually,” shares Kelly. “I am slowly plucking away at the courses in the curriculum, but my main focus right now is to learn Arabic with the hopes of reading and understanding traditional texts. I also want to transition my studies from fiqh over to hadith and Quran inshaAllah.” 

            When Kelly initially returned from overseas, she missed the company of scholars and sacred knowledge. Her faith struggled as she sought that same kind of community, which she was able to then find with Rabata and through her Ribaat classes. 

            “Rabata has reconnected me to beautiful company and sisterhood,” Kelly states. “I am honored to be a part of this online community, and it has saved me in so many ways. We are able to evolve and blossom as believers, grow in our faith and advance in knowledge together. Those of us who are mothers may find it especially challenging to seek knowledge while caring for our families. Know that it is not impossible to advance in your Islamic knowledge. You will be surprised how far you can go, even if your progress is slow. Allah will help you and reward you for the struggle you endured for His sake. Not only that, but your whole family will benefit from the knowledge you gain and share with them. Don’t give up and just keep at it. May Allah bless everyone at Rabata, accept their works and grant them the highest of Jannah. Ameen.”