MEDAN – USU PR: Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) has inaugurated 1,550 graduates for the third period of the 2021/2022 academic year, which lasted for two days, Monday (6/6/2022) to Tuesday (7/6/2022). They are students who have completed their studies from February to April 2022.

Among the 1,550 people smiling and full of joy on those two days, two graduates were the happiest. They are both cum laude students with the highest GPA in their respective programs. Both of them are Rizki Ramadhan, NIM 197017055, who completed his master's program from the Accounting Study Program with a study period of 2 years and 1 month and earned a 4.00 GPA. Also, Mikhael Pandapotan Siregar, NIM 181301106, completed his bachelor's program in the Psychology Study Program with a study period of 3 years 7 months with a GPA of 3.97. Achieving a perfect GPA, both expressed their feelings and shared a few flashbacks of their journey to completing their studies at USU to USU Public Relations.

Want to be a Lecturer

Rizki Ramadhan, S.Tr. Ak., M.Si, the name and the full academic degree he has. Asked about how he felt when he graduated precisely two years of college and got the highest score in the master's program at USU, Rizki was proud of his achievements and thanked Allah SWT for his blessings. He also thanked his parents, family, and friends who supported his journey to get to this point.

The youngest of 3 children, the son of Captain Inf Legiman and Santa Barabara Ginting, revealed why he chose the Master of Accounting Program as an option. He wanted to continue his study program linearly when he received a bachelor's degree, namely the D4 Public Financial Accounting study program. After graduation, he plans to enroll as a lecturer or lecturer at universities throughout Indonesia. He hopes to be accepted as a lecturer. He admits that the role of his parents in his life has had a powerful influence so far.

“My parents have always supported me until I got the highest grade predicate at this time. I always ask for prayers from my parents when I step in, and everything I get is because of the prayers of my strong parents," said Rizki full of emotion.

Explaining the learning system he got while at USU, according to him, it was very good. “From the lecturers' teaching so far, it is very clear that I get the whole thing. So even though I do lectures online, it doesn't reduce the quality of the desired learning system," he added.

When the teaching and learning process was implemented using an online system, Rizki admitted that it was the most memorable experience as a USU student. Even though he had to study online, he realized that it didn't drain his enthusiasm and friends to go through the lecture process.

He is an admirer of the Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, who emphasized the importance of education for the younger generation. "Improving the quality of human resources in this country is related to education. Education is a strong foundation so that our nation can stand on a par with developed countries and become even better," he said.

The young man admitted that he had never thought of becoming a lecturer before. In fact, as a child, he wanted to be a soldier, following in his father's footsteps. But he changed his mind when he saw the figure of one of his family who worked as a lecturer. Rizki, so I was interested in becoming a lecturer as part of efforts to educate the nation's children.

In addition to excelling in the master's program while studying at the Medan State Polytechnic, he also won a cum laude predicate. In addition, for off-campus activities, Rizki was ranked in the 3rd best in physical and discipline development at Rindam I BB Pematangsiantar and received a junior accounting certification from the National Professional Certification Agency. Rizki has also worked as a tax contractor at PTPN IV Medan and completed street vendors at PT Pelindo I (Persero) Medan.

As an alumnus, Rizki also prays that USU can become the best forum for its students to develop themselves and their talents. He also motivates his colleagues who are still struggling. “You have to remember the kind words that remind you that money can be earned, knowledge can be extracted. However, the opportunity to make parents happy will not be repeated. So no matter how difficult the obstacles to graduation, you will definitely achieve it if you try. The effort will never betray the results. Stay focused on one goal, friends. Stay strong and don't give up," he said.

The youngest of three sons, the couple, Justo Siregar and Meity Suzan Dien, said that he chose the Psychology Study Program because he wanted to develop the abilities of each individual, especially in the academic field. “That desire initially made me think about taking courses in education. But, on the other hand, I am interested in listening to and understanding the dynamics of each individual, not only the dynamics of his academic problems, but in various aspects of his life. So, I finally thought about it again and then chose psychology majors,” he said.

After graduating, the next plan he wants to do is find a job with interest in human resources. After he feels he has sufficient experience and is financially stable, he will continue his education to increase the possibility of a career that can be achieved and pursue the desire to become a lecturer/teacher.

Talking about the learning system he has been doing so far, Mikhael explained that it is related to reflection, sharing, and testing. “So, while studying, I will summarize the material for each course in my own language. If you don't understand, I will cross-check on other sources. As much as I can relate to real-life examples, the existing materials, considering that my college major is about humans themselves. I also have a kind of small group, where my group and I do short mentoring every time before the exam. It made me understand more about the existing material. Finally, I will make my questions from the existing material through the google form and try to answer them before exam time," he explained to USU Public Relations.

This young man admitted that he hero-worship Mother Teresa because of her kindness in helping fellow human beings, accompanied by her belief in God's presence, which became her motivation to do good and serve others.

The meaning of education for Michael is to keep moving forward and improving yourself from existing experiences. In the academic field and also in attitudes, behavior, and various other aspects of life. Michael also pointed out that his parents play a significant role in his life. “Parents are for me like oil that keeps me motivated in life. Because when I feel the difficulty of life, I always remember that my parents always pray for me every day. The desire to make my parents proud also motivates me to go all out in life,” he said.

Mikhael has also recorded several achievements inside and outside USU. The 1st winner of the National Psygeneration Short Video Competition, USU's Faculty of Psychology, 1st place in the Psychojournalistic National Essay Competition, Faculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Jember and the Awardee of the Tanoto Foundation Leadership Program. Mikhael has also worked in several companies, including; CV. Psylution Indonesia as Human Resource Intern and PT.Lingkar Hijau Indonesia (Sustaination) as Community Development - Project Intern.

When asked about his dream, Mikhael admitted that he wanted to become a lecturer or teaching staff. However, when it comes to consistency, he is no longer pegged to be a teacher but can also become a counselor, Human Resource, lecturer, and others. "After studying at USU's Psychology faculty, I became more open-minded and understood that the teaching context is limited to the classroom and can also be in organizational, clinical, and other fields."

Regarding his memorable experience while studying at USU, he mentioned a lot. Such as waiting and traveling around USU on the LINUS, feeding the deer in front of the Rector's Bureau, eating and telling stories with friends at the Student Center, and having fun at various USU faculty events such as Bunkasai, etc. Unfortunately, many moments have been missed due to the pandemic, and learning has to be from home. He hopes that offline learning can be implemented soon and students can experience the beautiful moments of studying at USU again.

As an alumnus, Mikhael also provided input to USU. It is hoped to have more facilities that can directly develop student skills and become a forum for creativity and student research development. Thus, USU can have candidates or cadres who have been nurtured from the start and can make USU proud. “For existing facilities, such as the PKM Centre, hopefully, it can be developed and maximized. In addition, I hope that external issues such as SDGs will be highlighted within USU," he added.

For his friends who are struggling to complete their education, he advised to stay motivated. “Make this education a friend and something that can be enjoyed. If you feel bored, tired, and helpless, it's okay to take a break. Because, as a story, our lives will also be more beautiful and organized if accompanied by dots and commas at certain moments. Hopefully, this learning process is not considered a burden but an encouragement to achieve a better future. (RJ)

Author: Renny Julia Harahap - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Amri Simatupang - Humas