WIRAWANCHEN

Never in my life would I have thought of being the best graduate. At the graduation ceremony of the LSPR Institute that was held on 1st December 2022, I was announced to be the best of the best graduate from the master's degree programme. When I delivered  a valedictorian speech, I mentioned that getting to this point has never been easy. Working as a professional on the weekdays and dealing with the postgrad thingy on the weekends really drained my energy. However, my dream to be an academic kept me going. Every time I felt exhausted, I looked at a note stuck on the wall: finish your master’s degree and find a Ph.D. scholarship. After months of sleepless nights, I got a master’s degree in communication studies! I thank my mum and dad for their unending support. On the stage, I mentioned that my mum and dad didn't go to college, but they manage to encourage me to pursue this master's degree. They once told me that they had never experienced attending a graduation ceremony.

Pursuing a master's degree has been a dream since I took my undergrad study. After receiving my bachelor's degree in December 2020, I began my professional career in a telecommunications company while also deciding to start my postgrad journey. Becoming a professional and a postgrad student at the same time was not a piece of cake. It was just like a rollercoaster ride, with some ups and downs for sure. I had to split my attention between working on the weekdays and dealing with my postgrad thingy on the weekends. But, luckily, I could overcome those challenges pretty well by making friends with sleepless nights and shots of caffeine.  It took eighteen months of attending lectures, conducting ethnographic fieldwork, analysing data, and writing thesis reports until I successfully defended my thesis on 23rd September 2022. What an exhausting yet exciting life journey! I told myself that getting to this point isn't just about the completion of the study, but also about consist

My dad didn't study feminism. He doesn't even have any idea what the term means. However, I've just realised that dad has been actualising the essence of feminism in the family since I was a lil kid: gender equality. Despite the fact that my dad works and leads the family, he occasionally volunteers to help my mum with chores. Throughout the pandemic, my mum and dad decided to stop hiring a house assistant. Therefore, all the family members share the responsibility to do all the houseworks. My dad believes that the domestic works belong to everyone in the family, not just women. When it comes to making a family decision, he listens to my mum's arguments although he already has his own.  My dad also has the ability to cook. He sometimes offers himself to cook and suggests mum to take a rest. His speciality, by the way, is cooking seafood. Not to mention, he is also a skillful mechanic who is able to fix almost everything in the house. I assume that my dad's love lang

After keeping in touch through social media for months, I once met Dr. Geofakta in person. Bang Geo, this is the way I address him due to the fact that he was born in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra and he is only 6 years older than me. Bang Geo has become one of my academic role models. He received his doctoral degree in 2021, exactly when he was just 29 years old! What amazes me is that, despite his rushing schedule as an assistant professor, Bang Geo is also a director in a training centre that focuses on digital marketing, personal branding, and public speaking.  I visited Bang Geo's office to discuss our joint research project. In this mid-March, we are going to present our research update in a panel held by the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. And of course, the event will be conducted online. But, aside from seriously talking about our research, Bang Geo also shared a lot of his personal experiences as an academic and a professional. Listening to his story has made me realise

My graduation ceremony was in December 2020. At that moment, I had already moved to Tangerang to embark on my professional career, while my family still remained in Pekanbaru. Only Dad was able to visit Tangerang due to his business trip and accompanied me in my virtual graduation ceremony.  Throughout 2021, I got no chance to pay a visit to my hometown. Travelling to other cities during the outbreak is a major concern for the company where I work. So, from the day when I was graduated until the end of 2021, I didn't have any proper graduation photos together with my family.  Luckily, at the beginning of 2022, I got a chance to get back home to celebrate CNY together with my family in Pekanbaru. I use that moment to take more proper graduation photos. And here are the results.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to be the family's first bachelor. Even though Mum and Dad didn't go to college, I want to thank them for being my life professors — as well as my funders!