Three graduates from the Medicine Program at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK UGM) achieved a perfect cumulative GPA of 4.00 at the undergraduate and applied undergraduate commencement for the third period of the 2024/2025 academic year held on Wednesday, May 27, at Grha Sabha Pramana.
The three medical graduates are Claire Emmanuel, Zabrina Kyla Setyawan, and Inzam Ilmi Kazamzam. Meanwhile, the average GPA for the 1,291 undergraduate graduates in this period was 3.60.
Claire, a native of Jakarta, expressed her joy and gratitude for the support she received from her family, friends, lecturers, and staff throughout her studies, which enabled her to graduate with a perfect GPA.
“I’m very grateful to be able to graduate with a perfect GPA,” she said on Friday (Jun. 6).
Claire shared that she had dreamed of becoming a doctor since her teenage years, inspired by her fascination with the human body and the work of the Floating Hospital founded by Dr. Lie Dharmawan through the DoctorSHARE Foundation.
Operating from a ship or barge, the hospital aims to deliver healthcare access to remote and underserved regions, including frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped (3T) areas. Claire realized that being a doctor meant being able to provide care under any circumstances.
“I chose UGM’s Medicine Program because it is known not only for teaching the gold standard but also for preparing doctors to adapt to the available healthcare facilities, whether in large cities or small towns,” she explained.
According to Claire, the professors and lecturers in the medical program not only shared valuable knowledge but also instilled the importance of humility and sincerity in serving patients.
Zabrina also expressed her pride in achieving the highest GPA, crediting her success to hard work and perseverance. In her first and second years, she was an active member of the Center for Indonesian Medical Students’ Activities (CIMSA), a national organization of medical students present in 27 universities, including UGM.
She also served as an anatomy teaching assistant and participated in several medical competitions. By her seventh semester, she had taken various short courses on herbal medicine, sports medicine, doctorpreneurship, sexual violence prevention for women and children, and the first 1,000 days of life.
These experiences sparked her interest in herbal medicine, which she later chose as the topic for her thesis.
“My thesis focused on the development of herbal medicine to help treat hypertension, a degenerative disease with high prevalence and serious complications,” said Zabrina.
Some people may be concerned about the long-term daily use of conventional medicine. Therefore, Zabrina examined the properties of Allium sativum, Curcuma aeruginosa, and Amomum compactum in an antihypertensive polyherbal formulation on the pulse rate frequency of hypertensive model rats.
“This research supports the potential of these compounds to be developed into standardized herbal medicine,” she said.
Zabrina admitted that she faced several challenges during her thesis work, which left her feeling discouraged. Her academic and extracurricular commitments were physically demanding while she was also working on her thesis.
“I had to abandon my first thesis topic due to a lack of research funding. Even the topic I eventually completed didn’t progress smoothly. Tears were a regular part of the process,” she recalled.
The other perfect GPA achiever, Inzam Ilmi Kazamzam, initially found it hard to believe that he had earned the highest GPA distinction.
During his studies, he actively participated in the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program, the CIMSA organization, and the FK-KMK UGM Student Executive Board. Balancing academic schedules with extracurricular activities was a challenge in itself.
“The course load in the medical program is quite heavy. Beyond campus activities, we also need to prepare for practicals and skills labs, which are time-consuming,” said Ilmi.
To manage this, he carefully organized his daily activities to avoid scheduling conflicts. For studying, he applied a learning objectives system to prevent feeling overwhelmed and to allocate time efficiently across subjects.
He also emphasized the importance of having study partners who can support each other. For Ilmi, FK-KMK UGM was not just a place to study but also a space to meet peers and friends who made the academic journey enjoyable.
“These 3.5 years have brought many ups and downs. It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” he concluded.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photographs: Courtesy of Claire and Ilmi