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Arnia Fatmawati Mirsanda (17) appeared happy after participating in the opening ceremony of PIONIR Gadjah Mada at Pancasila Field on Monday (Jul. 29).
Wearing her student uniform, Nia, as she is commonly called, proudly shared her activities on her first day as a new student in the Nuclear Engineering program at the UGM Faculty of Engineering (FT UGM).
Nia is among the 10,678 new students accepted at Universitas Gadjah Mada in 2024. Before classes start, she is required to participate in PIONIR activities.
PIONIR Gadjah Mada is a program for learning, introducing, exploring potential, and orientation to educate future leaders with a vision aligned with UGM’s values. It will continue until Aug. 3.
Nia is the daughter of a farm laborer living in Lhang Village, Setia District, Southwest Aceh Regency, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province.
Her father, Arman (45), is a junior high school graduate who works as a daily farm laborer in other people’s rice fields. Her mother, Muasiah (43), is a homemaker who occasionally helps her husband when there is work.
“The monthly income is uncertain, sometimes 700 thousand, up to one million if there are many labor jobs available,” said Arman.
Arman also sometimes works as a construction laborer to cover household needs when he is not going to the fields. From this unstable job, Arman supports the schooling of his two children.
Fortunately for Arman, his eldest daughter Nia has excellent academic and non-academic achievements in school.
In addition to serving as the Student Council President, Nia was selected as the Kamtibmas Student Ambassador for Southwest Aceh Regency and won the FLS2N Poster Design Competition at the regency level.
“I was initially unsure if Nia could go to UGM. Besides economic limitations, I couldn’t imagine her going alone to Java. We have no relatives or acquaintances in Jogja,” Arman confessed.
Now, with the certainty of a scholarship, Arman has softened. He prays that Arnia can complete her studies and graduate on time.
He also attended the New Undergraduate and Applied Undergraduate Parents’ Meeting for the 2024/2025 Academic Year at Grha Sabha Pramana on Monday (Jul. 29).
“There are many new students who receive scholarships like Nia. We thank UGM for allowing these underprivileged children to continue their education at a higher level,” he said gratefully.
Like other recipients of the 100% subsidized tuition (UKT 0), Nia, an SMA Negeri 1 Southwest Aceh graduate, will be exempt from tuition fees during her studies.
Nia was accepted into the Nuclear Engineering program at FT UGM through the academic excellence-based entrance selection (SNBP) route.
“I still can’t believe I got accepted at UGM, especially since my high school wasn’t among the top 1000 schools in Indonesia,” she said joyfully.
Desiring to change her family’s fate, she attended UGM, but it was difficult, as it involved debates with her beloved father.
“My father didn’t want me to drop out halfway, so he preferred I study in Aceh,” she recounted.
The scholarship she received further fueled her determination to graduate on time, even though studying Nuclear Engineering is considered unconventional by some.
“Many people think nuclear power is bad, but the application of nuclear technology is very broad, from power generation and radiation in industry to clinical radiology for medical diagnostics,” Nia explained.
Her interest in nuclear science stems from her reading hobby, which she has pursued since elementary school. She started being exposed to nuclear-related information during high school.
She also prays to work at the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) or in other nuclear engineering industries to advance nuclear technology in Indonesia.
Author: Triya Andriyani
Editor: Gusti Grehenson