Achieving the highest and perfect Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is a proud moment for any graduate. This is exactly what Sri Astutiningsih from the Master’s Program in Population Studies, Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (SPS UGM), experienced.
She is one of 10 graduates who earned a perfect 4.00 GPA among the 1,263 master’s degree recipients at the graduation ceremony held on Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025.
Commonly called Tuti, she expressed her happiness and pride in achieving the highest GPA.
Her academic journey was far from easy. She had to juggle her studies while taking care of her two toddlers, all while her husband worked out of town and could only visit occasionally during work breaks.
“The struggle to reach this point was definitely tough. It’s a mix of emotions, joy, and tears. It’s very different from an undergraduate journey,” she said on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at UGM.
Since 2018, Tuti has been working at the Directorate of National Resilience Statistics at Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
She received a scholarship from LPDP in 2022 to pursue her studies at UGM.
She said she chose the Population Studies Program at UGM because it aligned with her specialization in Population Statistics at the STIS Statistics Polytechnic and with her current work.
“It’s directly related to my job, which often involves analyzing population conditions, including welfare levels and poverty rates,” she said.
Additionally, Tuti mentioned that she chose UGM because of the longstanding reputation of its Population Studies program.
She trusted the quality of its lecturers, whom she believed to be experts in the field.
Moreover, the program’s regional development focus resonated with her previous work experience.
“Honestly, I used to work in regional analysis, so it felt more relevant when I chose this program,” she explained.
Throughout her studies, she found the lecturers and university staff to be very supportive, especially as she had to juggle the dual roles of mother and student.
She recalled a time when she had to deliver an online presentation while her child was hospitalized.
She presented while holding her child, who was on an IV drip.
Fortunately, the presentation went smoothly.
She credited her success to her lecturers’ kindness and her classmates’ support, which made things easier to manage.
For her thesis, Tuti explored “The Influence of Individual Characteristics and the Geographic Difficulty Index on Subjective Well-Being in Indonesia.”
She chose this topic because it connects directly with her work, which includes conducting national happiness surveys.
She aimed to elaborate on the spatial aspects using data produced by BPS and her unit, including the geographic difficulty index in rural areas, individual characteristics, and happiness survey results.
“I tried to analyze how factors like access to education, healthcare, and the economy in a village affect the happiness of its residents,” she explained.
One key indicator she examined was the happiness index, which is already used by other countries in policymaking.
Unfortunately, it remains merely an indicator in Indonesia and has yet to be adopted as a foundation for policy decisions.
She also highlighted the untapped potential of village-level data, which is rarely used in academic studies and remains largely underutilized in policymaking.
“It’s such a pity that this rich data hasn’t been used to its full potential,” she said.
When asked for tips on achieving academic excellence while managing the responsibilities of being a mother of two toddlers, Tuti emphasized the importance of time management.
She believes women can still pursue achievements and higher education while fulfilling their roles.
“Don’t let our role as mothers stop us. Our work is not just for ourselves and our families, but also for society and the nation,” she concluded.
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photographs: Sri Astutiningsih