Scholarship Talks in Rotaract Sentral Jakarta

Last Thursday (13 Feb 2014), I was fortunate enough to be invited by Rotaract Jakarta Central as a guest speaker for their weekly meeting. I was there to share my experience on study abroad under scholarships in Australia and US. I frequently receive emails asking about scholarship from people who read my blog,  but I have never have a chance to share my experience directly. Thus, I am glad I did it this time. At the beginning, I thought there will be only few people attend the meeting, yet as night went darker there were more people coming which made the meeting room full.

Here is my "Scholarship Talks" presentation, in case you missed it:

Scholarship Talks (Sharing Pengalaman Beasiswa di Dua Benua) from Olivia Purba

I would say that Rotaract (established by Rotary International) is kinda exclusive organization as the recruitment is based on sponsorship of their member. It is reasonable to be exclusive as Rotaract  is one of the most well established youth organization in the world with a lot of positive programs such as community development, educational program and personal development program.

People in Rotaract Jakarta Central are fun and full of (crunchy) jokes!  At the end of the meeting, we take some snap shots.  Here is the picture of us!

Me with Rotarct Jakarta Central people after the meeting,

I superb love the certificate, so classy, Thanks people! ;)

I really enjoyed my time there, so I will highly consider the invitation to attend Roatact Central Jakarta regular meeting regularly. ;)



Love,


Olivia

The Best University in Australia

I was tempted to change the university where I am going to conduct my master study. But looking at this recent QS university ranking result, I should have locked my choice by now. It is Australian National University, one of the best among its kind.

I've been waiting to start my study for a year now. I really wish for another 5 months to fast forward.
 


Love,

Olivia

Olivia's Speech Text on Australia Awards Dinner Reception

His Excellency Ambassador of Australia to Indonesia, Mr. Greg Moriarty;

Australia Awards recipients;

Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,


It is my great pleasure to stand here tonight representing my fellow Australia Awards recipients, these young bright scholars and the future leaders of Indonesia.

Let me start this speech with my short story. Back in 2009 was the first time my feet landed in a completely foreign country named Australia. I was there for a study abroad scholarship program. Little did I know it would be a life changing experience. The excellent education system brought forefront on the first day of my class made me realize immediately that one day I want to return to continue my further study. Four years later, as I am standing here at the podium the dream came true. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the government of Australia for giving me the way to reach my dream.

When I say thank you, I am not just speaking for myself. I speak on behalf of all awardees. We are all feeling very lucky and at the same time honored to be able to receive this precious scholarship.

Our sincere gratitude also goes to our own employers – both from Indonesian Government and from Non Government institutions-- who have shown boundless support for us. Thank you very much.


Ladies and gentlemen,

For most of the awardees, this will be the first time studying in Australia. Despite all the anxiety of starting a new life in a foreign land, far away from home, we are all looking forward to the imminent experiences: a first class university system, comfortable study environment, and not to forget the four seasons. Deep down in our hearts, we know that our experience of studying in Australia would definitely change our perceptions, our lives, and even our future.

We’ll definitely meet new people, not only Australian but also other international students from various countries all around the world. I am sure that every individual whom we encounter in Australia will be our precious personal and professional contacts in the future. This is one of the great things coming out of the Australia Awards, the enduring ties between individuals of different nations.


Ladies and gentleman, 

Australia Awards as you know has a long heritage commencing in the early 1950s with the Colombo Plan. It is such a priviledge to be part of such a long standing program and later on join the troops of thousands of alumni who have made significant contributions to the development of Indonesia and to the bilateral ties between Indonesia and Australia.

I would also like to express my proud feeling to be one out of four Indonesians to receive the Allison Sudradjat Prize this year. I am honored and humbled to be part of the legacy of Allison Sudradjat who made such an outstanding contribution to the development in Indonesia, especially during her years served at AusAID.

I am totally aware that this is a rare opportunity and therefore I determine to use the prize to develop my individual potential and later on to contribute to the society.

I am, myself, intending to study a Master of Environmental Management and Development at the Australian National University in the 2nd Semester of 2015.

Once I return from my study, I have a mission to help the government of Indonesia in developing its environmental policy and ultimately to help people who suffer by environmental mismanagement.

Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” And that is what I am trying to apply through my future education in Australia and through my contribution to the society once I return back home.

After all, I am just a daughter of my father and my mother. Apart from my deep passion towards the development of Indonesia, all the positive contribution I am trying to create aims to make my parents proud of me.

Finally, on behalf of all awardees, I would like to close my speech by expressing our upmost sincere thanks to the Government of Australia and all the parties who help run the Australia Awards program.

Thank you very much for trusting us this prestigious scholarship, once again thank you!


Date       :  12 December 2013
Location : Ambassador of Australia, Greg Moriarty, Residence




(Watch the video too!)

Letter of Gratitute (Alisson Sudradjat Prize)

It was Monday morning, I was rushing to my pre-departure training (PDT) class in Menara Kuningan. It has been a week since the PDT class started yet I always ended up come late. With super-high determination, I woke up early that morning to be able to arrive in the class on time. I don’t want to disappoint my teacher and disturb my PDT friends, again. I stood up in front of the classroom exactly at 7.05. Not too late, I said to myself. The class has not started yet. My teacher and my friends just had an ice-breaking conversation.

Not so long after I entered the class and sat down, my teacher distributed small white envelops to some of us. My friends were curious, so was I. I could not resist not opening it.

Surprise surprice… inside the envelopes, it was the prestigious Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) and Allison Sudradjat Prize (ASA) announcement. (There were 2 people who received ALA and 3 people who received ASA in my class alone. And I am one of them.)



Among around 425 Indonesian citizens who received AAS (Australian Award Scholarship) this year, I am one out of only few 3 people who were honored this prestigious Allison Sudradjat Prize (ten other people received Australian Leadership Awards). With this prize, I can get a grant up to 25 k dollars for work placement and/or research purpose in Australia.

I understand some people might have some thoughts in their mind. Why you? What have you done? And what will you do with the prize? Here is an honest confession about my feeling after receiving the news this morning.

I personally don’t think that I am smarter neither more active than anybody else. I frankly think I have not contributed enough. In fact, I am still on my early stage of learning how to become a good practitioner in my field (environmental issues). I think when they reward me with the prize, they truly see the big potential in me and I deeply feel honor about it. Thus, I will try my best to get the most out of it; use this opportunity for the development of my country and of course for strengthening the bilateral relationship between Indo-Australia.

Finally I realize I am not a perfect human being. I made mistakes, a lot! I totally aware that receiving this prize makes people expect more from me. So I would try my best to do the best.  Thank you very much for trusting me and giving me this opportunity. Once again, thank you.


Love,


Olivia

When Dreams Come True

-When dreams come true, I should build another dreams to keep me alive-

Today, two of my biggest dreams came true.

I really wanted to go to ANU (Australian National University) since long. When I came to Melbourne for study back in 2009, I have already had it in my mind that I want to return back to Australia one day to study at ANU, the best university in Australia. I remember  when me and my BF sitting on a bench in the middle of the park. He begged me to come back to Australia soon, I said if I return back it will be for ANU. Today, the dream came true (half way). I just received an email stating that I already received the offer from ANU under the AAS scholarship program. Since, I am taking double master program so I will be there until middle of 2016! ;)

The second one is working with UN. I've been always dreaming about working with UN since as long as I can remember. So during Ied holiday last August, I challenged myself to apply for internship to several UN bodies. UN ESCAP in Bangkok is my first priority since it is one of biggest UN bodies in Asia Pacific and Bangkok is not that far from home.

Today, I received the email that my internship application has been approved. I am so happy about it!



I wonder if my life could be better than present, I am living my own dreams.
Now you see, dreams are real.


Love,


Olivia

Finally, The REAL Tips and Trik Mendapatkan Beasiswa

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, saya kembali menerima email yang isinya menayakan tips dan trik mendapatkan beasiswa. Biasanya saya hanya membalas singkat dengan  kata“be persistence”. Namun hari itu saya sedang berada di Kuala Lumpur City Museum bersama salah seorang sahabat saya (kami berdua sedang dalam perjalanan transit menuju Kathmandu, Nepal). Sekedar iseng, saya kemudian menyeletuk ke si Sahabat, “Gue baru dapat email dari orang nanyain beasiswa. Kayaknya gue sering banget dapat email beginian.” Lantas Sahabat saya tersebut menjawab, “Bagus dong lip, artinya lo kompeten dalam bidang itu”

Pernyataan tersebut membuat saya kemudian merenung. Kalau bisa jujur, saya sebenarnya lebih senang sharing pengalaman saya ketika traveling (terutama ke luar negeri). Alasannya karena saya sangat suka mengeksplor budaya di negeri antah berantah yang jarang dikunjungi teman-teman di dalam negeri. Tapi kenyataannya, saya lebih sering menerima email yang menanyakan tips beasiswa daripada tips traveling. Jadi mungkin saja salah satu skill utama saya adalah chasing scholarships. Kalau memang benar, apa salahnya saya sharing dengan para scholarship hunters.

Apabila dirunut, ada tiga beasiswa ke luar negeri dalam 5 tahun ini yang saya ambil: 

1. Peace Scholarship untuk kuliah selama satu semester di Melbourne, Australia (2009)
2. Study at the United States Institute untuk summer study selama dua bulan di Montana, USA (2010), dan yang terakhir
3. Australian Awards Scholarship untuk melanjutkan perkuliahan jenjang S2 di salah satu universitas di Australia (2014-2016)

Diluar beasiswa tersebut, saya mendapat beberapa tawaran beasiswa yang tidak saya ambil. Listnya ada di sini.

Sebenarnya terdapat banyak portal mengenai beasiswa yang kaya informasi dan memotivasi untuk para pemburu beasiswa, diantaranya Indonesia Mengglobal dan Motivasi Beasiswa. Namun mungkin akan lebih menarik untuk mengetahui sendiri pengalaman mengejar beasiswa secara langsung dari saya, si mantan pemburu beasiswa (status ini hanya berlaku untuk sementara).


Jadi hal yang saya lakukan untuk mendapatkan beasiswa sederhananya adalah sebagai berikut:


1. Mengumpulkan informasi beasiswa.

Termaksud dengan ikut milis beasiswa dan sering mengecek portal besiswa (seperti dua situs yang saya sebutkan di atas). Informasi yang saya kira penting saya simpan di dalam satu folder di komputer dan di runut berdasarkan kategorinya, misalnya: Beasiswa Eropa, Informasi Beasiswa, Tips Beasiswa, etc.


2. Membuat list daftar beasiswa yang saya ingin daftarkan (termaksud deadlinenya)

Deadline penting sekali! Jangan sampai karena kesibukan sehari-hari, deadline beasiswa tersebut kelewatan. Dari pengamatan saya, banyak teman pemburu beasiswa yang kehilangan kesempatan berkuliah di luar negeri karena lupa mengirimkan berkas beasiswanya tepat waktu.

3. Mengumpulkan semua dokumen yang diperlukan dengan rapi dan cermat

Pada dasarnya setiap beasiswa meminta calon pelamar untuk mengirimkan dokumen yang isinya kurang lebih sama yakni:

• CV
• Transkrip/Ijazah
• Identitas (KTP atau Pasport)
• Motivation Letter
• Recomendation Letter (biasanya dua yakni dari pembimbing akademis dan atasan kerja)

Terkadang ada beasiswa yang meminta legalisir dari dokumen tambahan seperti kartu keluarga atau akte kelahiran. Seluruh dokumen yang kiranya dibutuhkan, disiapkan jauh-jauh hari. Kalau bisa, persiapkan juga kopian dokumen tersebut dalam beberapa rangkap sehingga tidak perlu mondar-mandir mengejar dokumen ketika mengetahui ada beasiswa yang baru buka. Selain itu, perlu pula diperhatikan berapa banyak rangkap dokumen yang diminta oleh si pemberi beasiswa. Biasanya pemberi beasiswa memiliki beberapa panelis sehingga membutuhkan beberapa rangkap dokumen untuk di berikan ke masing-masing panelis.

4. Edit, edit, edit dan edit lagi motivation letter

Boleh dibilang ini adalah hal yang paling sulit bagi saya. Motivation letter itu sifatnya sangat personal. Jadi walaupun ada yang membimbing, kita pribadi harus tahu visi dan misi kita untuk melanjutkan perkuliahan dibidang tersebut. Selain itu, kita juga harus pintar mencari benang merah antara latar belakang pendidikan dan karier dengan visi, misi, keinginan untuk berkuliah di negara tersebut, bidang tersebut dan di universitas tersebut. What important the most is you know exactly what you want and you are on your track to achieve it!

Jangan cepat puas dengan motivation letter yang sudah kamu buat. Perlihatkan motivation letter itu ke orang-orang yang mengerti tehnik dan pola penulisan yang terstuktur. Terima masukan dengan lapang dada, edit dan terus edit sampai mendekati sempurna.

5. Kemas recomendation letter yang baik

Recomendation letter yang baik itu berasal dari sumber yang benar-benar kenal dengan kamu secara professional dan personal. Biasanya pemberi beasiswa gampang mengenali recomendation letter yang benar-benar ditujukan ke seseorang secara pesonal atau customize dari recomendation letter yang diberikan oleh si rekomender kepada banyak orang. Akan lebih baik lagi kalau pemberi rekomendasi kamu adalah prominent figure atau orang yang sudah dikenal secara luas oleh masyarakat untuk bidang studi yang hendak kamu tekuni tersebut.

6. Persiapan interview

Latihan! Simulasi dengan diri sendiri atau dengan teman yang mau dengar celotehanmu. Saya sendiri biasanya latihan dengan merekam diri saya di i-pod atau presentasi sendiri di cermin. Kalau saya pikir-pikir lagi, isi interview beasiswa sebenarnya tidak jauh beda dengan interview pekerjaan. Mereka intinya hanya ingin melihat apakah kamu kandidat yang tepat dan sesuai dengan visi dan misi mereka. Dan it is true, semakin sering kamu interview, semakin lihai kamu menghadapinya.

7. Coba dan coba lagi

Gagal itu biasa dalam beasiswa. Saya pernah juga gagal dan patah hati. Tapi life goes on. Dan mimpi harus terus dikejar. Jangan putus asa karena kegagalan hanyalah satu fase yang dilalui dalam mengejar beasiswa. Coba banyak beasiswa, jangan hanya targetkan satu.

8. Be Persistence!

Kembali lagi saya mengulang kata yang sering saya sampaikan untuk para pengejar beasiswa. Hal yang paling utama dalam mengejar beasiswa adalah keteguhan hati. Penolakan memang menyakitkan dan saya mengerti “A human can’t take too much rejection at the same time”. Tapi saya selalu percaya kegigihan akan menghasilkan buah manis. If it is for you, it will come to you just on the right time. If it is not now, it'll come sooner or later. But please just don’t give up! Be persistence!



Sekian dari saya. Akan saya update lagi apabila ada inspirasi baru. Good luck all the scholarship hunters!



Love,


Olivia

University of Yakutsk Russia Music Performance in Jakarta

I was assigned to guide the booth of my school (office) in the World Education Expo in Balai Kartini, Jakarta, on 14-16 Feb 2013.

So when I had time, I went to look another booths from different universities all around the world.

One university that left a deep impression on me is The University of Yakutsk from Russia

Here I got the video, the representative of The University of Yakutsk was showing me their music instrument which impressed me so much!

You might wondering, where is Yakutsk actually? It happened to me too when I heard the name for the first time. In short, it is just in the Siberian part of the Russia. In long, Wikipedia would be able to help us.

Yakutsk (Russian: Якутск; IPA: [jɪˈkutsk]; Sakha: Дьокуускай, Jokūskaĭ, pronounced [ɟokuːskaj]) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about 450 kilometers (280 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. Population: 269,601 (2010 Census);^[4] 210,642 (2002 Census);^[7] 186,626 (1989 Census).^[8]Yakutsk is a major port on the Lena River. It is served by the Yakutsk Airport as well as the smaller Magan Airport. It is a major supplier of diamonds.

What surprised me the most besides the opportunity to get scholarship is..... the price for the accommodation if you choose to study there.  Perhaps due to the subsidy, they only charge for 42$/person/YEAR to stay in the dorm (the dorm conditions is pretty good though).

So, are interested to apply now? 
For me, yes (seriously).

More information about the University of Yakutsk, click www.s-vfu.ru/en/ 


Love,


Olivia

My Trip to Singapore for The SUSI Alumni Workshop March 2013

I just recently returned from a week trip in Singapore. The purpose of the trip was to attend the Study of the United State Institutes (SUSI) ASEAN Alumni Workshop which was held from 7-11 March 2013. Yet I made 2 days of extension due to national holiday in Indonesia (12 March 2013).

The workshop was about gathering the Alumni of SUSI program on Global Environmental Issues from both University of Montana and University of Hawa’i from all around ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia) to prepare for the Alumni Engagement Innovative Fund  (AEIF) which is  an annual based grant by US Department of State for those graduated from any of US program. I myself graduated from SUSI Global Environmental Issues in University of Montana back in 2010 when I was still on my last year of undergraduate student. It is funny to imagine three years later I met the same people with the same habit and the memories of living in Montana are flashing back and forth.

Three years ago in DC

Three years ago in Bison National Range

Three years ago with my beloved girls in front of  The White House

I can say that the workshop is most likely discussing on how to write proposal for grant and how to approach people to support the idea on the proposal. Luckily the proposal that me and my team proposed was among the top 3 from 20 something initial proposals. It then gave us chance to present the idea in front of four panelists in the US Chamber of Commerce office in Singapore on the last day of the event. It was such an honor and I felt so thankful for the support of all the SUSI alumni who vote our project. It was out of my expectation because the truth is I made the proposal almost 3 years ago, right after returned from US in Summer 2010. I have not got the chance to do something about it due to my other activities. Yet I am so glad that we made it this time! I would not let the idea sinking in the middle of other activities again. Actions speak louder! So hell yeah, let’s implement it.

By the end of my presentation, Lori from the East West Center University of Hawa’i expressed that she was impressed by my presentation and then proposed me to apply for the Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP) in East West Center. I’d really love to go there one day. In fact, I’ve been wanting it for long! Maybe after finishing my imminent master study in ANU. ;)

Just in case you are curious about the project we proposed. We named it Youth Ecopreneurship  (YEP) Camp. It is more about linking up environmental issues, entrepreneurship and local value. Find the detail here  http://yepcamp.weebly.com/

Update: I just got the video of my presentation from the mentor, here it is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSVEhd5wPM8 

Tell me your opinion?

Love,

Olivia

Tips Wawancara Beasiswa ADS (Australian Development Scholarship) or Australian Awards Scholarship

Tulisan ini merupakan pengalaman pribadi penulis menghadapi wawancara beasiswa Australian Development Scholarship (ADS).

Saat itu awal Desember 2012, saya memberanikan diri menghubungi kantor Australia Award Indonesia untuk menanyakan status aplikasi ADS saya. Puji Tuhan saya mendapat kabar gembira bahwa aplikasi saya lolos ke tahap seleksi selanjutnya yakni test wawancara dengan Joint Team Selection (JST) dan test IELTS.

Menurut saya pribadi, hal yang paling menetukan dalam kelulusan untuk beasiswa ADS adalah hasil wawancara. Nilai IELTS hanya menentukan lamanya training English Academic Program (EAP) yang durasinya bervariasi mulai dari 6 minggu hingga 9 bulan. Buktinya saya melihat sendiri ada beberapa peserta yang lolos wawancara ADS dengan nilai IELTS 4.5 dan 5. Berangkat dari asumsi tersebut, saya berusaha mempersiapkan diri sebaik mungkin untuk menghadapi test wawancara.

Namun pada saat saya mencari informasi di internet, tidak banyak tulisan dari para peraih beasiswa ADS yang menbahas mengenai proses seleksi beasiswa, termaksud wawancara oleh JTS. Hal ini yang kemudian memicu saya untuk membuat tulisan ini agar para calon penerima ADS berikutnya memiliki gambaran yang lebih jelas mengenai proses wawancara salah satu beasiswa terpopuler di Indonesia ini.

Dari berbagai informasi tentang wawancara beasiswa yang saya kumpulkan, sebenarnya ada hal umum yang bisa di tarik dari pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang biasa diajukan. Materi wawancara beasiswa pada umumnya berkutat soal:

- Aplikasi dalam formulir beasiswa yang telah diisi

- Alasan merasa perlu melanjutkan jenjang studi

- Proyeksi ke depan

- Kontribusi terhadap institusi pekerjaan/ Indonesia secara umum setelah masa studi berakhir

- Highest achievement 

Hal lain yang penting untuk diketahui dan diutarakan selama wawancara beasiswa adalah manfaat yang didapat si pemberi beasiswa (tergantung interest masing-masing pemberi beasiswa) apabila ia memberikan beasiswa tersebut kepada pelamar.

Khusus untuk wawancara ADS, ada beberapa hal utama yang harus dipersiapkan:

1. Cek universitas dan subjek studi yang kamu hendak ambil di Australia. Pastikan bahwa kamu tahu keunggulan universitas tersebut dan daftar mata kuliah yang hendak diambil dari subjek yang kamu telah pilih.

2. Pelajari secara mendalam tentang topik/isu yang ingin didalami di jenjang pendidikan yang lebih tinggi (Master atau PhD) baik secara nasional maupun global.

3. Pastikan bahwa topik tersebut ada kaitannya dengan tempat kamu sekarang bekerja atau aktifitas utama yang kamu lakukan.

4. Cari benang merah dari keseluruhan hal tersebut dengan formulir aplikasi yang telah kamu kirim.


Hal yang perlu ditekankan pada saat wawancara ADS:

1. Bagaimana kamu dengan semaksimal mungkin dapat memanfaatkan beasiswa ADS untuk memperkuat hubungan bilateral antara Australia dan Indonesia?

2. Bagaimana kamu bisa memberikan kontribusi yang berarti bagi proses pembangunan di Indonesia?

Pemandangan dari dalam ruang tunggu wawancara ADS, bendera Australia yang bekibar di  depan halaman Kedutaan Australia terlihat jelas.

Berikut adalah daftar pertanyaan yang diajukan oleh tim JTS. Seluruh pertanyaan saya terjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia karena (entah kenapa) otak saya secara otomatis mengingat percakapan tersebut dalam terjemahan bahasa Indonesia.

Pertama sekali masuk ruangan wawancara, saya diberikan guyonan bahwa foto saya di CV berbeda dengan rupa saya yang sebenarnya. Saya juga ditanya apakah saya baru memotong rambut saya? (ice breaking session). 

Kemudian pada saat duduk di depan tim JTS, saya melihat data-data saya (termaksud CV) menyebar di atas meja. Jadi bisa disimpulkan bahwa sebelum mulai mewawancarai setiap peserta satu per satu, tim JTS telah mereview profile peserta secara mendetail.

Pertanyaan serius oleh tim JTS dimulai dengan pernyataan bahwa dari CV saya, tim JTS bisa melihat bahwa saya telah aktif di beberapa kegiatan kemahasiswan dan organisasi di luar kampus, oleh karenanya apa yg menjadi tujuan atau passion saya di kemudian hari? 

Pertanyaan tersebut saya jawab dengan mengisahkan tentang kampung halaman saya di Berastagi, dimana dampak perubahan iklim membuat banyak petani merugi. Hal tersebut kemudian memacu saya untuk bertindak guna mengurangi dampak buruk perubahan iklim. Hal ini saya wujudkan dengan ikut berbagai kegiatan lingkungan di kampus, mengambil mata kuliah yang terkait isu politik lingkungan global dan setelah lulus saya bekerja di institusi pemerintah yang bergerak di bidang perubahan iklim. Kedepannya saya ingin berkontribusi dalam proses policy making di Indonesia di bidang perubahan iklim.

Pertanyaan seterusnya adalah sebagai berikut:

· Bagaimana pendapat kamu tentang perkembangan climate change policy di Indonesia?

· Apa pendapat kamu tentang CDM (Clean Development Mechanism)?

· Seberapa besar pengaruh social media dalam kaitannya dengan climate change?

· Apa yang kamu ketahui tentang Clean Energy Future (CEF) program di Australia?

· Belum selesai menerangkan soal CEF program, saya dipotong dengan pernyataan bahwa mereka sudah mengerti bahwa saya memahami benar tentang climate change policy dan berbagai jenis model mitigasi dan adaptasi perubahan iklim. Kemudian dilanjutkan dengan pertanyaan: kamu masih sangat muda, bagaimana cara kamu dapat meyakinkan policy makers yang jauh lebih senior?


· Apa hal yang kamu ingin tambahkan didirimu sehingga bisa mempengaruhi pembuat kebijakan?

· Bagaimana pengalaman kamu sewaktu study abroad di Melbourne?

· Bagaimana pula sewaktu menerima beasiswa summer study di USA?

· Sebenarnya ada banyak orang seperti kamu, muda, berprestasi dan punya banyak pengalaman. Apa yang menurut kamu membuatmu berbeda?

· Apa rencana kamu 10 tahun ke depan?

· Apakah ada rencana untuk melanjutkan ke jenjang PhD?

· Apakah ada hal lain yang mau di tanya ke tim pewawancara?

Untuk pendaftar ADS level master, tim JTS terdiri dari dua orang yang merupakan komposisi dari pihak Australia dan Indonesia. (Untuk level PhD sepengetahuan saya terdiri dari 6 orang tim JTS). Saya sendiri di wawancara oleh seorang professor dari Australia dan seorang Ibu yang merupakan dosen pengajar di universitas di Makasar. Dalam kasus saya, seluruh pertanyaan diatas diajukan oleh si professor dari Australia.

Just in case you want to know, yepp I got the scholarship plus with 6 weeks of EAP. ;)

Good luck all the scholarship hunters!



Update: Tujuh bulan setelah menerima beasiswa ADS, saya terpilih untuk menerima supplementary award Allison Sudradjat Prize (ASP). Setiap tahun ASP diberikan hanya kepada empat penerima beasiswa ADS terbaik. Silahkan lihat video dan teks pidato saya pada saat Australian Award Ceremony di kediaman duta besar Australia, Greg Moriarty, Desember 2013 lalu: http://namaku-popshie.blogspot.com/2013/12/olivias-speech-text-on-australia-awards.html



Love,


Olivia

A Scholarship Hunter Resignation

Hereby I declare that I quit my job as a scholarship hunter.
It has been a rewarding opportunity for me to follow my dreams and to chin myself uo whenever I failed.
Yet it was so much worth it!
I got several scholarship offers from different universities/institutions in various countries,
Here they are:

1. University of Twente Scholarship (Netherlands)



2. Universita Della Calabria Scholarship (Italy)

 3.  Asia Leaders Program (Dual Campus Master Program) - Alteno De Manila and University for Peace (The Philippine and Costa Rica)

4. Australian Development Scholarship (Australia)

Even more than my expectation

5. Nominated for Australian Leadership Award Scholarship  (ALAs)

Behind all the successful stories, there is always the unsuccessful stories. And yes, it happened!

I actually applied for many scholarships. 

Some of them are Jardin Scholarship (to continue study in University of Cambridge, UK) and Total Scholarship (to continue study in Science Po, Paris).

After went through several selection process, I finally brought myself to the very final interview of  Jardin and Total Scholarship.

It was soooo close in front of my eyes yet I failed! 

Heartbreak? Of course. 

But look? Still I don't give up.

One big thing that I learnt from this scholarship hunting journey is to never give up! I am actually a persistence person by nature. Once I want something, I will never give up until it is in my hand.. But the good thing is, I myself know exactly what I want and why I want the things which I want. I am a visionary person. I make plans (a very big plan on sketch) and arrange one by one steps to turn it into reality. On the top of that,  I always listen to my heart and follow my dreams.  

With this rewarding experience of chasing scholarships, it has re-affirmed me that my dreams are never too far away.  It is there for me, waiting for me, and.it will come to me just on the right time.

Like I always said,
"Dreams leave hopes. It keeps you alive. Keep on dreaming."



Love,


Olivia