Nadia Atina Solihati feels very happy when she passed entrance mechanism to college (SNMPTN) and accepted at Nursing Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada. She was happier when she realized that she gets full scholarship.
“I am very happy and grateful. It’s a dream come true to go to college at UGM,” Nadia said when met at her house in Karangsalam, Banyumas city, Central Java, on Wednesday (22/6).
The alumnus of SMA Negeri 1 Banyumas has expressed a desire to become a nurse since she was a kid. She wants to serve in the health field someday because medical personnel in her area is still few.
“We have many teachers here, but very few medical staff. In fact, I see we desperately need more people here,” she said.
Nadia was very grateful to get a scholarship to college. Because, without it Nadia is sure that it would be very difficult for her parents to pay her tuitions.
Sumarso, Nadia’s father, only relies on his small plantation yields to make money. While her mother, Warsini, is a housewife.
“A month earnings of her father is 500 thousand from coconut and cloves that he sells. To increase the income, her father became a motorcycle taxi rider when her neighbor needed him,” Nadia said.
Seeing the condition of her parents, Nadia did not want to burden them any longer. Therefore, since the tenth grade she was trying to have good grades.
Nadia is confident that with good grades, it would be easier to get a scholarship. Sure enough, since she was in 10th grade, she only paid 50 percent of her tuition.
“Alhamdullilah, my grade is always above average. I got 9 in Chemistry and Biology, and other subjects,” she said.
Thus, it is not surprising that she has been always the best of her class. However, while in 10th grade, she got second place.
While she was in 11th grade, Nadia successfully earned second place for East Java Scientific Writing Competition. In the competition, Nadia’s team made syrup from the rind of the mangosteen.
“Glad to be the second champion. Back and forth I consulted with the teacher, I would like to know the science of it,” said Nadia.
The admirer of President Nelson Mandela and Sukarno is an activist at her high school student organisation in Banyumas in the Field of Entrepreneurship. The two world figures turned out to be enough to motivate Nadia’s passion for learning.
“I love Nelson Mandela because we know he did not discriminate, while Soekarno is obviously because he is the role behind the independence of this country,” she added.