3rd Session of GSF Mentorship

Two days ago, I got another chance to see Kak Jourdan (I didn’t really ‘see’ him technically since we used SKYPE call without video) and have a 34 minutes discussion (seriously, I counted).

We were supposed to do this last December (1^st december), but I was so stupid for mistakenly marking my calendar. The session was supposed to  start an hour earlier! I was very surprised when I got an email from Kak Jourdan, asking for my availability (is it the proper word? haha).

I actually might get an opportunity to see him (literally, not through screen) at the end of last year when he came to Jakarta, but thanks again to today’s technology, my or his email (I’m not sure which one) didn’t deliver. This actually happens a lot (not just one time)! 26^th January should be the final session but it seems like MBA has a reputation for making you super busy. That’s not a big deal. My teacher (who is also someone I look up to), Pak Nadra, once said that as a student or even any subordinates, don’t ever : (1) come late but it is acceptable for your boss (2) tell your boss when to see you, just follow his/her schedule.

Okay, back to our main topic. First thing first, we discuss my unanswered questions. In the previous session, Kak Jourdan gave me recommendation of some schools that provide good MPP program but focus more on economy and monetary sector such as BU and ANU. I’ve seen BU and it looks like the perfect school for me. I checked their curriculum, elective courses, and requirements, all good. I also tried to dig more about ANU, but their website is not exactly user-friendly (or is it just me?).

Kak Jourdan came up with a new suggestion, Harris Chicago School of Public Policy. In this case, Tasha from YESSBOSS helped me finding out that Harris is the #7 best public service school in US according to Best Value School 2015. It also has a focus area on “Economic Policy and Public Finance”. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped considering my previous options. I also have a list of local schools, but then again Kak Jourdan said “Tapi kalau bisa di luar negeri, kenapa nggak’?”. Couldn’t agree more. Kak Jourdan also brought a good news, BI will not open any recruitment until next year, which means I still have a shot! (This is what he promised to ask to his brother who is currently working at BI).

I asked Kak Jourdan his opinion about my resume (which I already sent on 25^th October and had to send it again because I forgot the date, haha). And …. turns out I still make loads of mistakes. Yes, I know, I am bad at writing, academic/formal writing to be more specific. That’s why I decided to join an academic writing class in LBI FIB UI (upper intermediate, and still enrolling as a student the moment I write this). Not just the way I write, I also mistakenly put “experience” as “other addition”, chose comic sans as the main font instead of times new roman/arial (never knew about this before) etc.

I also asked how long I should know someone to get him/her write a letter recommendation for me. The answer is quite surprising. Because he told me that most people in Indonesia write their own letter and just show it to person who is supposed to recommend them, asking for his/her permission to send it. Well, that’s not how I asked my teacher (which later turns to be very bad).

Up until now, I still have no experience in organizations/community which can legitimate my personal brand as “a leader”. So his response after I questioned the importance of leadership skill to get into good schools was like “Penting. Penting sekali. Tapi kan’ kamu sudah punya bisnis sendiri. Bisa kamu cantumin.” Dang! Never crossed my mind! Well, it is just a small business and I have no intention to make it bigger, but at least I already hire someone (yes, hiring a friend of mine!) and that could be something interesting to put on my resume.

How important is a GPA? This question had been haunted me even before I got into university, haha! But it seems like universities in Indonesia are less attractive than other univ abroad, especially India (this one is a common knowledge, India has been well known as country with good education system. Only ignorant people don’t know). But don’t worry! We still have local students got accepted into good universities like Harvard, Stanford (including Kak Jourdan, haha) etc. Now it is my job to prove that a student from UIN can also do that!

I also told him about me getting an offer to work at *** (an international NGO focusing on environment), but I haven’t graduated by the time I was asked. Kak Jourdan advise me not to take it, because it could be affect my future study in a less good way. People will ask why I took banking program, decided to work at *** and now applying to public policy school? That actually makes sense.

I asked several questions I’ve been curious about and Kak Jourdan answered it very well. But due to his very limited time, we needed to end the session. He promised me another session at the end of this month (probably also the last). Still trying to fix my resume and thinking about other questions. I have to use this last chance and make the most of it!

First Model United Nation Experience!

First Model United Nation Experience

Being a non-international relation students, it was actually a bit late for me to know this stuff. I was youtube-ing when I found out Model United Nation (MUN) for the first time. A bunch of university kids went to Harvard Model United Nation and apparently one of them won. But the thing is they look like were having fun!

Decided to get out of the dark, I finally did a small research (or basically type “Model United Nation” on Google and see what happens), hoping for some kind of enlightenment. To put it simply, MUN is a role-play except it is non-NSFW because you don’t need to tell people what your fetish is and  judging them for being not-open-minded if they don’t take it the same as you. Jovial da Lopez (2013) in “Model United Nation : How It Goes” calls it a place where a bunch of ambitious kids gather around to look cool (LOL). Some others also define it as a United Nation (UN) simulation conference where you will pretend as a delegate from other countries and discuss about current issues. It involves research, debate, negotiating, and public speaking. All in English.

As we all know, I like learning English and it crossed my mind that this could be one of the best way to improve mine. It didn’t take long for me to come up with an idea to include “Participating in MUN” on my 2015 list. It was a rush decision considering my lack of experience both in MUN and English. That’s why when a club in my campus were having an International Studies Club Diplomatic Course (a non-serious version of MUN) I took it as a chance to know how it feels to do MUN.

Despite of all the disasters, I actually really enjoyed it. I mean yes, I didn’t send my working paper on time, I came late, and I got nervous every time I have to speak (by the way I only spoke 2 times during motion and didn’t even raise any). This is completely different from English class I used to take. People here spoke English very well. They knew what they were doing (later I found out that some of them have been to HMUN/NTUMUN before, which explains a lot). I felt lost and that somehow affected my speaking. I couldn’t reach out the audience!

Being done with ISCDC doesn’t mean I am also done with friends I met there. Isn’t that the point of MUN? To have fun and make friends (well, besides winning of course). I met this girl named Tara, and she is very passionate in MUN. We were like “let’s keep in touch after this!” and we did. Even though we just knew each other like couple days, we agreed to participate in South East Asia Model United Nation 2015 (SEAMUN 2015).

Perhaps I should give a special paragraph to describe SEAMUN 2015. SEAMUN 2015 is the first MUN held by Project Diplomat, a community for MUN lovers. Though it took place in Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) and most of board members are UPH students (I actually didn’t see any students from other universities), SEAMUN 2015 is open for international applicants and can be held outside UPH. And just like its name, SEAMUN 2015 has a special council which they claimed to be the first time ever in MUN : ASEAN Ministrial Meeting.

The only thing that got in our way is money. To solve it, we sent funding proposal to some companies and even the faculty we belong. We were very eager to do this. Hey, that could be my last chance to join MUN! We sent it through email (too many I can’t even recall) and sometimes visiting the office just to drop the proposal, wishing it could be considered (I did this to BNI, BNI Syariah, and ENTER). I knew all along emails wouldn’t be very effective while BNI wasn’t very promising. Being close with the supervisor, I thought I had a better chance with ENTER. A week after sending it, the supervisor told me our proposal had been reviewed. It was just a matter of time before they announced their contribution, or what he bluntly called by “the amount of money we will get”. But a week later, he changed his mind saying that it was impossible for them to fund us. I was very upset because he didn’t even look sorry and that actually meant a lot for us. Well, some people don’t give a shit what we have been through. But we finally found a donator, which is my faculty, Fakultas Syariah dan Hukum. It was very surprising that we made it since FISIP rejected us no more than 5 minutes after we stepped into the office.

The worst part came after that. I had difficult times dealing with Tara but it is over now. We kinda made up after SEAMUN. Now moving on to the main topic, SEAMUN 2015! Since SEAMUN consisted of 3 days conference, we stayed in a boarding house near UPH. It costed us 400K IDR and that included free wifi, toilet inside, AC-room, and twin beds.

DAY 1

I still remember when we were told to introduce ourselves, I said “This is my first ever MUN experience and to be quite honest I am very nervous” and the co-director was laughing. Haha.

Well, being in ASEAN council, don’t expect the room will be filled by loads of people. In fact, there were only 10 delegates minus delegate of Thailand who had been absent since the very first day. We presumed he was busy shooting for the upcoming Thailand horror movie, LOL. Delegate of Myanmar and Brunei come from Ganesha MUN Club, ITB. Delegate of Vietnam comes from ITS. Delegate of Philiphine comes from President University. Delegate of Indonesia and Myanmar come from Widyatama University, Bandung. Delegate of Malaysia comes from SMAN Tangerang. And of course, delegate of Singapore and Lao come from UIN Jakarta J

We only had 1 committee for the first day, but in 4 hours! I didn’t know how it works in other MUN, but my experience in previous simulations clearly didn’t anticipate this coming. It actually doesn’t sound that bad because we always had a 30 minutes break in every committees.

Selected as delegate of Singapore! YAY

When we had a debate about which topic we would discuss first, I silently spelled a curse to prevent Trans-boundary Haze for being chosen, haha. The reason was simple, I wasn’t ready for that plus economic development has always been my concern. Delegate of Malaysia disagreed, but thanks to delegate of Indonesia (he was afraid of being cornered, haha) and delegate of Myanmar, we only talked about narrowing gaps in ASEAN for the next 3 days.

In the beginning, I still got nervous when it was time for me to speak. But slowly I was trying to adapt with the situation. And since there were only 9 delegates, delegates got more chances to speak. I didn’t raise any motion and tend to raise my placard after some other delegates did. That’s because I need some time to put my thoughts on a piece of paper to make it more structural. I wasn’t able to do it spontaneously. I also realized that my English needs more practice because it is supposed to be a formal meeting while I am more like a conversational girl. That’s the problem with me. Academic writing is also something I should improve because you couldn’t write a draft without it, DUH!

The first day went very well, though I was still left behind compared to the other delegates especially those who had participated in MUN before.

DAY 2

The night before, I decided to do more preparation. I received a guide from COP21 Simulation on how to be best delegate and I used that to review my previous performance. This material is actually very helpful (perhaps I should share it in a place where public can have an access). I also did more research to support my argument.

Delegate of Myanmar, ITB

We had 2 committees now, 3 hours for each. I tried to be more connected to the other delegates but lately I realized it’s becoming more repetitive. I also spoke more, be faster in writing ideas and tried to be more critical.

Delegate of LAO PDR, UIN Jakarta

This day we came up with 3 working papers. It was made by delegate of Indonesia, delegate of Philiphines and delegate of Myanmar. I supported both working paper (wp) from Indonesia and Myanmar, especially Myanmar. I could see that she did a very good job in making it. It was better than any other WPs. No wonder, she’s experienced and have attended 2 more MUNs before, one of them is Asia Pacific MUN.

Delegate of Malaysia, SMAN Tangerang

There were funny moments when I got involved in a debate with delegate of Cambodia. This guy kept insisting on his idea about bonds, hedging, and market chain supply to be implemented in ASEAN while financial literacy in less developed countries are still low. How is that supposed to help SMEs development, our main purpose? But we finally came to an agreement to give assistance to SME first before jumping into bonds and blah. He also didn’t mind giving us “a class” by demonstrating a simulation using available medias (or basically piece of paper) to explain how bond could work, haha. Delegate of Brunei called it “precious paper”, lol.

Delegate of Vietnam, ITS

           

     Before going home, we decided to have a meeting to discuss the draft resolution. The dice expected us to come up with more than one DR but we were too united to listen, haha. Some of us went out after magrib because we were stuck in one point. Turned out it didn’t help much.

Delegate of Philipines, President University

                DAY 3

                Finally the last day! I have improved a lot since the first day (or at least I think I did). And now time to focus on the draft resolution. Sure we already handed it over to the dice before the committee started, but we could always revise it later. Like I said, we only came up with one DR. Delegate of Indonesia proposed delegate of Myanmar as the only sponsor since she is the main contributor to this DR. We all voted for yes. Congrats Myanmar!

Delegate of Indonesia and Delegate of Cambodia, Widyatama University

          The dice also reminded us the importance of our nation’s stances and that we were representing our countries. So I always tried to bring Singapore’s interest (did I mention that I was delegate of Singapore? hehe) to be put on our DR.

Delegate of Brunei Darussalam and Delegate of Indonesia

                Delegate of Malaysia proposed an idea to make Lao PDR as base hub of ASEAN mainland transportation because of its strategic location. Of course this raised a question since Singapore has been known as a maritime hub in ASEAN. We did realized that implementing this idea might not help some countries, especially Indonesia which is located far away. BUT it IS possible for countries around Lao PDR such as Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. And it could help distribution of goods between countries become easier. I asked the other delegate to put a phrase “still supporting Singapore as the main maritime hub in ASEAN” and they agreed, just in case.

                Speaking of distribution, it is strongly related to infrastructure and of course, investment. Being a developing country, Lao and countries around couldn’t do that alone. That’s when I came in. I put myself forward as the main investor in helping those countries developing the infrastructure. Unfortunately, delegate of Brunei also proposed herself so they put both of us on DR. I was going to raise a motion to discuss about the proportion of our contribution but it failed. Apparently people were getting tired and it was almost time to go home. Hehe.

                The day’s session was closed by delegate of Lao PDR, “Delegate of Lao PDR would like to adjourn this ASEAN Ministrial Meeting 2015”. And that was it!

                It was such an experience! Well, of course I had bad moments, but the good one is much more than that. There are things I decided not to write here due to some reasons. But overall it was awesome. It brought me to a realization that I actually enjoy doing this. I like to participate in MUN. I like doing public speaking though I am not very good at it. I like doing research. Even I like getting involved in a debate. And most of all, I like getting to know new people, having a discussion with them, and of course having fun.

                For non-international relation students who are interested in MUN, don’t be afraid to start. Maybe you can participate in ISCDC or MUN simulation before starting the real thing. Or even joining a MUN Club in your campus (it’s too late for me to do that, I wish I knew ISC before). That could help. And don’t forget, MUN is everything but cheap. SEAMUN 2015 cost me 1 million, not to mention accommodation fees during the conference. So if you just want to play around and look cool by joining MUN like Jovi said, you better find another place. 

2nd Session Mentorship - Global Shapers Fellowship

I finally had my second mentorship session with Kak Jordan last month, 23^rd September to be exact. It was supposed to be done a month ago, but due to several reasons we had a delay. Again, my SKYPE account has proven himself extremely useful! And now I am going to spread away what I’ve got!

First, we were discussing about my findings from previous session. There were 3 questions : Due diligence to get into BI, school of public policy, and my miserable CV. As for the last, I already made a new one. This time no photo, no irrelevant information, result oriented, and one page only. Just like an international format. But I am still confused with design issues. I am not a creative-type nor can I use software design. But don’t worry I’ll come up with something!

Moving on to BI. We were talking about me working at BI, sharia division. So I did a quick internet research. There are several ways to get into BI. And the most suitable and promising is Penerimaan Calon Pegawai Muda (PCPM). Why is it so? Because they accept fresh graduates, either banchelor or master degree. Once you get accepted, you are automatically an assistant manager.

I also watched a promotion video made by BI itself, explaining their culture work and role for our economy. Apparently they have the so-called balance life style. Many clubs are available. Dancing, martial arts, you name it. The pay is also good, according to a guy from UNPAD who managed to get into on his blog. Unlike some other state-owned companies, BI has a good reputation. Discipline, professionals and chosen might be some of positive words to describe workers at BI. However, something good comes with a price. The selection process takes months, almost a year! I already listed every steps and how to accomplish them. The only problem is it’s been 2 years since the last PCPM. Considering a discussion on Kaskus that PCPM is only open once in every 2 years, then we have a question here.

Kak Jourdan also advised me to find another job during the selection process just in case. You can’t expect me to be an unemployment for a year! So, I was wandering around, trying to get information from some friends. A friend from BNI Syariah told me that we can’t just say “hey, thanks for this unbelievable year, but BI wants me. So ciao!”. Companies spend a lot to train new employers. And if you dare to leave before the minimum years, a fine will be waiting for you.

My other option is to keep searching for another info about other companies, or to have a full internship program. For instance, I checked on JOBSDB.COM last night and I found that Citibank is searching for fresh graduates to fill intern position for 6 months. Because it’s after graduation internship, it has to be a reputable company with a clear job of desk. You know some interns in Bank, well not only Bank, are treated unfair. Nothing much to do. Make a coffee, deliver papers. I have been there once. I wanted to try real job and it could be frustrating at some points.

We also talked about school of public policy. I found some schools and their requirements. Kak Jourdan said I should choose more wisely. Public policy is too general. It could be politics, health care, energy etc while I am only interested in economics, monetary, and banking. He gave me some recommendations including Boston University (Master of Economic Public Policy, BU) and Australia National University (Master of Economic Policy, ANU). After checking the curriculum, I am positive that they are more relevant to my interest rather than my previous list. However, new questions crossed my mind. Some schools on my list do have economics concentration. And even though some don’t, the subjects in first year is very basic and elective courses will help you to learn deeply in topic you are interested in.

Now that those 3 questions were already answered, I had almost 20 questions related to school, work etc. Kak Jourdan told me his success and failure stories which we should be doing in the first session. To be honest, it was very motivating. I’m not going to share it here, it would be too long. The point is giving up is not a choice. I  lost many times, but those who won deserved it and I didn't. Don’t deny it. I remember someone made excuses because she got rejected. Admit that you are not good enough right now and keep improving yourself for the next chance.

I was very glad to finally got a chance to do this second mentorship. It was very enlightening. Honestly, every time I have to speak with Kak Jourdan I get nervous, haha. It always happens when I have to face great or bright people. After all, I am just another regular ambitious girl.

This month or November will be the last part of Global Shapers Fellowship. I actually want to have a small discussion about cases in Indonesia that can be solved with public policy with Kak Jourdan, but let's see! :) 

First Giveaway by Me!

Beberapa waktu yang lalu saya terpilih sebagai Campus Ambassador (CA) di kampus untuk YouthsToday.com, sebuah start-up asal Malaysia yang memiliki misi menjembatani ide-ide anak muda berupa event dengan para sponsor (klik di sini untuk membuka website YouthsToday). Dan selama 3 bulan ke depan saya diberi tugas untuk mengumpulkan peserta dari kampus saya untuk mengikuti The ASIA Youth Awards 2015, di mana tiap partisipan diminta membuat suatu konsep event dengan tema "Connect ASIA with Internet 2015".  Sebagai CA, mau nggak mau saya juga harus berpartisipasi.

Salah satu kriteria penilaian event adalah jumlah voting (20% dari total penilaian). Atau dengan kata lain, berapa banyak orang yang sign up di YouthsToday.com, konfirmasi email, dan register di event kita. Jadi singkatnya, giveaway ini sekaligus untuk mempromosikan event saya, hehe. Tapi tenang, status registrasi di sini hanya formalitas kok. Nggak benar-benar harus datang. Intinya nggak jauh beda dengan kontes like-like-an di instagram atau facebook ;) Sepertinya ini juga salah satu cara YouthsToday.com mempromosikan website mereka di Indonesia.

Sebenarnya ini juga kali pertama saya buat giveaway. Dulu-dulu biasa jadi peserta :p. Untuk teman-teman yang memutuskan untuk daftar di giveaway dan voting di event saya, terimakasih banyak! I really appreciate it! :)

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Frequently Asked Question :

Q : Berapa jumlah pemenang giveaway ini?
A : 2 orang yang beruntung akan mendapatkan buku pilihan mereka.

Q : Apa saja kriteria buku yang bisa saya pilih?
A : Buku fiksi dari penerbit manapun yang stoknya tersedia di website bukabuku.com, terbitan tahun 2015, dan dengan maksimum harga Rp 100.000,00.

Q : Kenapa hanya buku yang tersedia di bukabuku.com dan terbit tahun 2015?
A : Agar lebih mudah dalam hal pengiriman. Kalaupun tidak ada di bukabuku.com, saya masih bisa cari stoknya di Gramedia dekat sini karena masih terbilang baru.

Q : Buku yang saya inginkan ada di website lain, apakah saya tetap bisa mengajukannya?
A : Tidak. Hanya buku yang stoknya tersedia di bukabuku.com.

Q : Bagaimana dengan buku impor?
A : Hadiah harus buku fiksi terjemahan.

Q : Apakah 100K sudah termasuk ongkos kirim?
A : 100K adalah harga maksimal buku yang kamu pilih. Ongkos kirim ditanggung oleh saya selaku penyelenggara giveaway.

Q : Kapan pemenang giveaway ini diumumkan dan lewat apa?
A : Pemenang akan diumumkan pada 5 September via email. Balasan ditunggu sampai dengan 3 hari setelahnya (8 September). Buku akan dikirim paling lambat 10 september.

Q : Kapan giveaway ini berakhir?
A : Giveaway serta voting di event saya berakhir tanggal 31 Agustus pukul 12.00 WIB.

Q : Apakah dengan register di event saya harus berpartisipasi atau membayar sejumlah uang?
A : Tidak. Tujuan dari register di sini hanya untuk formalitas saja. Ini merupakan salah satu cara YouthsToday.com mempromosikan website mereka.

Q : Apakah 100K harga sebelum atau sesudah diskon?
A : Sebelum diskon.

Q : Ada lebih dari 1 buku yang ingin saya beli, tapi harga keduanya bila dikombinasikan masih di bawah 100K. Apakah saya dapat mengajukan keduanya sebagai hadiah giveaway?
A : Ya, boleh.

Q : Saat ini saya berdomisili di luar Indonesia. Apakah buku yang saya pilih bisa di kirim ke sini?
A : Tidak. 

Sesi Pertama Mentorship Global Shapers Fellowship

Pada 19 Juni 2015 lalu saya akhirnya saya berkesempatan untuk melakukan sesi pertama mentorship Global Shapers Fellowship. Mungkin pertama dibahas dulu ya, apa itu Global Shapers Fellowship. Singkatnya Global Shapers Fellowship atau GSF adalah suatu mentorship program untuk mahasiswa/i yang berdomisili di Jabodetabek dan Bandung. Tiap anak akan dipasangkan dengan satu mentor yang ia pilih dan selama enam bulan ke depan mereka akan dibimbing oleh mentor tersebut. Para mentor berasal dari Global Shapers Jakarta Hub, salah satu inisiatif yang dibentuk oleh World Economic Forum dan tersebar di berbagai belahan dunia salah satunya Indonesia.

      Saya beruntung terpilih dari sekitar 160 mahasiswa setelah melewati seleksi aplikasi dan interview. Mentor saya adalah Jourdan Hussein, seorang profesional yang memiliki pengalaman di UKP4 (Unit Kerja Presiden Bidang Pengawasan dan Pengendalian Pembangunan). Kak Jourdan merupakan lulusan Banchelor of Art (BA) dari Wesleyan University serta meraih gelar Master of Public Policy (MPP) dari Oxford Blavatnik School of Government. Ia sudah diterima di Stanford Graduate School of Business (salah satu sekolah dengan program MBA terbaik di dunia yang terkenal sangat selektif, rate of acceptance-nya lebih rendah dari Harvard Business School) dan beberapa bulan ke depan akan memulai studinya di sana.

          

      Karena pada saat itu Kak Jourdan masih berada di Inggris, sesi pertama ini kita lakukan lewat skype. Sebenarnya saya sendiri juga ragu bakal dapat kesempatan face to face dalam 6 bulan ke depan karena kesibukan beliau, hehe. OK, intinya kali ini kita hanya melakukan identifikasi berbagai hal yang diperlukan untuk mencapai tujuan jangka panjang saya. Dari sini juga saya mulai melihat kelemahan dan kelebihan yang selama ini saya punya tapi kurang saya perhatikan.

          

      Dimulai dari potensi, mimpi, dan prestasi. Dari dialog antara kita berdua, akhirnya saya menyimpulkan bahwa saya adalah orang yang senang berbagi. Sebagai buktinya saya bergabung dengan Masyarakat Relawan Indonesia, Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT). Bergabungnya saya dengan ACT, salah satu Non-Government Organization (NGO) terbesar di Indonesia yang berfokus pada bidang kemanusiaan merupakan cara saya berbagi dengan sesama. Sebagai jurnalis volunteer di sana saya berbagi melalui tulisan. Saya juga pernah melakukan penggalangan dana kecil-kecilan (masih lewat ACT) yang nantinya akan disalurkan kepada orang-orang yang membutuhkan. Sayangnya fakta yang satu ini tidak saya sampaikan kemarin.

         Saya juga merasa diri saya analitis dan mampu bekerja dalam tim. Hal tersebut dibuktikan oleh program magang tiga bulan di Kantor Pusat Bank Muamalat Indonesia dari desember sampai februari lalu. Kala itu saya harus bekerja sama dengan beberapa mahasiswa lain untuk menyelesaikan tugas yang dibebankan pada kami, salah satu yang paling berat adalah meng-handle Branch Managers Bank Muamalat dari seluruh wilayah di Indonesia. Bulan puasa tahun 2014 lalu saya juga sempat magang di Bank Tabungan Negara Syariah Kantor Cabang Bekasi. Di sini saya lebih banyak mengurus masalah administrasi. Saya dituntut untuk memikirkan cara menyelesaikan tugas yang banyak sendirian dalam waktu yang singkat. Namun itu saja masih sangat kurang sehingga saya berencana untuk lebih banyak berpartisipasi dalam kepanitiaan forum/event nasional maupun internasional sebelum masuk dunia kerja. Ada banyak event besar yang akan diadakan agustus sampai oktober nanti, aplikasi pun sudah saya kirim. Tujuannya tidak lain adalah untuk lebih mengasah leadership dan team work skill.

           Saya juga merasa bahasa Inggris saya termasuk baik. Tapi bukti yang ada kurang mendukung, sebab score TOEFL saya tahun 2011 lalu (tahun terarkhir saya mengambil tes TOEFL) walaupun lulus tidak jauh dari angka 450. Usaha yang sudah saya lakukan untuk ini adalah mengikuti kursus conversation english di lembaga kursus ENTER selama 2 bulan (sekarang sudah selesai). Dari situ saya merasa kepercayaan diri saya dalam berbicara bahasa Inggris bertambah, namun belum cukup bagus untuk disebut profesional. Jadi, langkah selanjutnya adalah mengambil kursus conversation dan academic writing di tempat lain agustus nanti (sudah fix tempatnya di mana), bergabung dengan English Debate Club, serta tes TOEFL ulang 30 Juli 2015 nanti (edit : ternyata yang saya ambil EPT, bukan TOEFL. Dan karena ada pengunduran tes, saya belum sempat lihat hasilnya). Score minimal yang saya ingin capai adalah 600 (karena merupakan syarat mutlak untuk diterima di sekolah yang ingin saya tuju), kalau bisa di atas 633 (teman saya berhasil mencapai score 633, saya jadi merasa tertantang untuk mengalahkan dia, hehe).

         Ledaership skill saya ternyata lebih meprihatinkan. Saya belum pernah memegang posisi leader dalam suatu organisasi (terhitung saat sesi mentorship pertama Juni kemarin). Namun mulai bulan Juli ini, saya terpilih sebagai Campus Ambassador yang menghubungkan UIN Jakarta dan YouthsToday.com (Klik di sini untuk cari tahu lebih lanjut mengenai YouthsToday.com). Saya memiliki partner dari jurusan Hubungan Internasional, dan bersama-sama kami memiliki misi untuk mencari minimal 10 orang peserta untuk berpartisipasi dalam The ASIA Youth Awards 2015 yang diselenggarakan oleh YouthsToday.com serta membimbing mereka sampai kompetisi selesai. Ada beberapa program dalam beberapa bulan ke depan yang ingin saya gabung untuk melatih sisi leadership agar lebih baik lagi.

       Mimpi saya adalah membantu negara menyelesaikan banyaknya permasalahan yang masih melanda dan membantu lebih banyak orang. Terdengar klise ya, hehe. Saat ditanya prestasi, sebenarnya saya agak minder karena sejauh ini saya belum pernah menjuarai kompetisi-kompetisi setingkat nasional, apalagi internasional. Tapi akhirnya saya punya juga sesuatu untuk “disebutkan”. Saya sempat menjadi juara dua seleksi pertama beasiswa DIPA jurusan IPS se-Jawa Barat. Seleksi pertama berupa tes mata pelajaran sementara yang kedua berhubungan dengan masalah administrasi. Di sinilah saya gagal. Saya juga sering juara kelas dan menjadi juara seangkatan dari jurusan IPS semasa SMA (Ini lupa saya sebutkan). Sempat saya tekankan juga bahwa tulisan saya (berupa cerpen) pernah dimuat di majalah remaja. Intinya skill menulis saya nggak jelek-jelek amatlah.

        Kemudian Kak Jourdan bertanya public figure yang sangat ingin saya temui. Spontan saya menjawab Sri Mulyani Indrawati dan Prof. Yohanes Surya. Saya memang sudah lama kagum pada sosok Sri Mulyani. Beliau memang terkenal karena keberhasilannya bergabung dengan International Monetary Fund (IMF) dan World Bank Group. Yang agak memalukan adalah saat ditanya “Kamu tahu nggak Bu Sri Mulyani sedang di Indonesia sekarang?”. Sejujurnya saya sama sekali nggak tahu. Seusai sesi itu saya coba cari sumber-sumber seperti twitter atau fanpage facebook yang memungkinkan saya untuk mendapatkan update jadwal Bu Sri Mulyani tapi hasilnya nihil.

Prof. Yohanes Surya memang nggak ada kaitannya sama sekali dengan bidang yang saya geluti. Tapi saya sempat hadir dalam program Super Mentor-nya Dino Patti Djalal, di mana beliau datang dan menceritakan pengalamannya mengajar anak-anak Papua. Di situ saya sangat merasa terinspirasi dan bertekad untuk menjadi pribadi yang lebih berguna bagi lebih banyak orang.

         Sebelumnya saya sudah diminta memikirkan sekolah lanjutan yang ingin dituju (kalau mau lanjut). Berdasarkan riset singkat yang saya lakukan di internet, sekolah yang terkenal memiliki program MPP yang bagus adalah Goldman School of Public Policy UC-Berkeley dan Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Nggak tanggung-tanggung ya targetnya, hehe. Ujung-ujungnya kalau nggak diterima ya ambil Magister Perencanaan dan Kebijakan Publik, Konsentrasi Keuangan dan Perbankan di UI (itu juga kalau diterima). Setelah mengeluhkan keterbatasan sumber, Kak Jourdan menyarankan saya untuk membuka beberapa situs yang dapat membantu pencarian saya, yakni Times Higher Education Ranking, The Guardian, The Economist Rank, dan Shanghai Jiatong Rank. Dapatlah beberapa nama sekolah seperti London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Oxford Blavatnik School of Government (tempat Kak Jourdan menyandang gelar MPP), Science Po di Paris, serta Heartie School di Berlin.

            Kak Jourdan bilang saya perlu pengalaman kerja sebelum lanjut S2. Hal tersebut sebenarnya memang sudah saya rencanakan. Oleh karena ingin menjadikan public policy sebagai karir masa depan, saya berharap dapat segera bergelut di bidang tersebut setelah lulus. Public policy yang saya maksud di sini adalah yang fokusnya moneter dan keuangan seperti Kementrian Keuangan, Bank Indonesia (BI), atau (ujung-ujungnya) Bank Syariah untuk sementara. Pengetahuan mengenai profesi yang saya inginkan sangat minim. Sejauh ini yang terpikir adalah researcher, marketing, dan dosen setelah menyandang gelar master. Namun kemudian Kak Jourdan menyanggah bahwa saya butuh S3 untuk jadi dosen. Saya memang belum terpikir sampai sejauh itu. Seusai sesi saya langsung cari-cari info jalur masuk BI di internet dan menginterogasi senior yang pernah magang di sana.

          Sebelum mengakhiri sesi, saya diberi kesempatan untuk tanya-tanya. Pertanyaan pertama yang saya ajukan adalah persepsi Kak Jourdan tentang bank syariah. Ternyata komentarnya positif. Ketahanan bank syariah terhadap krisis 1997 dan 2008 membuktikan bahwa perhatian terhadap sektor ini memanglah perlu. FYI, kakak beliau adalah orang BI bagian Bank Syariah yang merupakan lulusan International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) dan Durham University. Saya cukup kaget waktu beliau bilang kakaknya (yang sampai saat ini masih saya cari tahu namanya) pernah masuk UIN namun keluar sebelum selesai dan memutuskan untuk pindah ke IIUM karena dirasa kurang bagus. Katanya ia bisa membantu saya bertemu dan berdialog dengan kakaknya bila sudah siap dengan pertanyaan lengkap, sebab beliau orang sibuk.

        Saya sempat tanya kenapa Kak Jourdan mengambil program MPP dan MBA karena jelas keduanya benar-benar berbeda. Ternyata ia sama sekali tidak berminat untuk lanjut ke pemerintahan, MPP ia gunakan untuk melatih cara berpikir. Sedangkan MBA karena ingin mencapai financial freedom dulu. Kenapa Stanford GSB, dan bukan Harvard Business School (HBS)? Menurutnya anak-anak di Stanford lebih chill, nggak seperti (lulusan) Harvard yang (walaupun nggak semua) agak-agak sombong. Lokasi yang dekat dengan Sillicon Valley juga menjadi alasan. Selain itu Stanford GSB punya program khusus yang mempelajari NGO (Kak Jourdan merupakan kontributor di Sabang Merauke).

           Akhirnya sesi ditutup karena sudah masuk waktu buka puasa di Indonesia. Sejujurnya selama sesi saya masih agak kaku-kaku gitu, haha. Terimakasih banyak Kak Jourdan Hussein atas sharing-nya yang sangat bermanfaat. Beberapa hari kemudian saya pergi ke Gramedia untuk membeli karton besar, tempat saya mencoret-coret target selama beberapa tahun ke depan. Benar-benar dapat lebih banyak gambaran dari sini. Nggak sabar untuk sesi selanjutnya! :)

FAQ Seputar The Asia Youth Awards 2015

Apa itu The ASIA Youth Awards 2015?

The ASIA Youth Awards 2015 (TAYA 2015) adalah penghargaan internasional bagi anak-anak muda yang memiliki kepercayaan diri dan kemauan untuk berbagi dan saling menginspirasi.

Siapa yang menyelenggarakan TAYA 2015?

TAYA 2015 diselenggarakan oleh YouthsToday.com. YouthsToday.com adalah suatu start-up yang didirikan pada tahun 2013 di Malaysia.  Tujuannya adalah mempertemukan anak-anak muda yang memiliki ide dan para profesional, kemudian mewujudkannya menjadi suatu event atau proyek. Tahun ini YouthsToday.com mulai berekspansi lain dengan menyelenggarakan TAYA 2015 yang pesertanya berasal dari negara-negara lain di Asia, termasuk Indonesia.

Siapakah pendiri YouthsToday.com?

Pendiri YouthsToday.com adalah seorang Jazz Tan, seorang socio-preneur asal Malaysia.

Penghargaan apa saja yang sudah diterima oleh YouthsToday.com?

• Best Start Up to Sillicon Valley, USA Stanford Program Achiever 2014
• Most Prestigious Start Up - ASEAN Entrepreneurship Award 2014
• MCMC ANT Award by Prime Minister of Malaysia 2014
• British Council and GAB Best Social Business - Entrepreneurs for Good 2013

Siapa yang bisa mengikuti TAYA 2015?

Semua mahasiswa aktif UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta (Mahasiswa universitas lain dapat mendaftar dengan menghubungi Campus Ambassador-nya masing-masing).

Apakah ada syarat lain untuk mendaftar TAYA 2015? IPK minimum? Aktif di organisasi?

Tidak. Semua mahasiswa aktif dapat mendaftar TAYA 2015.

Apakah ada ketentuan maksimum berapa jumlah peserta dari UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta? Saya takut kuota sudah penuh.

Sejauh ini tidak ada. Jadi jangan menunda-nunda untuk mendaftar :)

Apakah mahasiswa UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta yang ingin berpartisipasi akan diseleksi terlebih dahulu?

Tidak. Semua mahasiswa UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta yang telah mendaftar dapat berpartisipasi dalam TAYA 2015 dan mengirimkan idenya.

Apakah universitas lain di Indonesia juga berpartisipasi dalam TAYA 2015?

Ya. Universitas lain baik perguruan tinggi negeri maupun swasta juga mengirimkan sedikitnya 10 peserta dengan 10 ide yang berbeda-beda.

Apakah ada biaya pendaftaran?

Tidak. TAYA 2015 tidak memungut biaya sama sekali.

Apa keuntungan yang saya dapatkan dengan mendaftar TAYA 2015?

• Sertifikat level internasional untuk semua yang berpartisipasi dalam TAYA 2015.
• Berhak menghadiri The Awards Night di Malaysia pada 18 Oktober 2015 dan seluruh biaya akomodasi ditanggung oleh YouthsToday.com.
• USD1000 cash sponsorship untuk pemenang dengan ide terbaik.

Bagaimana timeline TAYA 2015?

• 1 Juli - 20 Juli : Pendaftaran
• 1 Agustus - 7 Agustus : Submit ide event di website YouthsToday.com
• 7 Agustus - 31 Agustus : Mengajak teman-teman untuk mensupport ide kamu dengan cara register di event yang kamu buat.
• 31 Agustus : Penilaian dari juri.
• 7 September : Pengunguman pemenang dengan ide terbaik yang akan mewakili Indonesia dan menghadiri The Awards Night di Malaysia, 18 Oktober 2015,
• 18 Oktober : The Awards Night.

Ide seperti apa yang dimaksud?

Ide berupa event dengan tema "Connecting ASIA with Internet 2015" untuk diaplikasikan sebagai pelengkap pada Youth Jam Internet Festival pada 18 Oktober 2015 di Mayalsia nanti (Klik di sini untuk melihat Youth Jam Internet Festival). Ide yang terpilih akan mendapatkan kesempatan untuk diimplementasikan dengan bantuan sponsorship 1000 USD. Buat sekreatif mungkin dengan gambar atau kata-kata agar terlihat menarik.

Bagaimana formatnya? Apakah seperti essai?

Bukan. Formatnya seperti advertising event. Contoh-contoh format event dapat dilihat pada website http://youthstoday.com . Website tersebut mengharuskan kamu untuk sign up terlebih dahulu untuk melihat event-event yang tersedia. Sign up di sini terlebih dahulu.

Apakah ide yang disubmit dapat dikerjakan dalam satu tim berisi beberapa orang atau perindividu?

Harus perindividu.

Apa maksudnya "mengajak teman-teman untuk mensupport ide kamu" yang harus dilakukan tanggal 7 Agustus - 31 Agustus ?

Minta teman-temanmu berpartisipasi dengan mengklik "register" pada event kamu. Voting ini masuk kriteria penilaian, yakni 20%.

Apa saja kriteria penilaian lainnya?

40% : Kreativitas
40% : Kemampuan menginspirasi pembaca untuk berpartisipasi dalam event kamu.
20% : Voting.

Apakah ide event yang disubmit harus dalam bahasa Inggris? Bolehkan saya menulis dalam bahasa lain, misal bahasa Arab atau bahasa Prancis, kemudian saya lampirkan terjemahannya dalam bahasa Indonesia?

Tidak. Semua ide event yang disubmit di YouthsToday.com  harus dan hanya dalam bahasa Inggris.

Bagaimana cara mendaftar?

Registrasi dengan mengisi formulir di sini.  Daftar sekarang karena waktu registrasi sangat singkat. Setelah mendaftar, kamu akan mendapatkan email konfirmasi bahwa kamu telah terdaftar beserta dokumen berisi detail TAYA 2015 dan apa yang harus kamu lakukan selanjutnya. Jadi terus cek email kamu.

Punya pertanyaan lebih lanjut?

Silakan hubungi YouthsToday.com Campus Ambassador UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta : 087883530721 (Sabrina) or 085920567558 (Marina).

Terimakasih!