Category: People

Categories
Features People

Jojo: The Unexpected Benefit of Having a Peculiar Hobby

To have a hobby means to love doing something. Have you ever felt like having a hobby that is uncommon or unheard of for most people? If so, let me introduce you to the alums of English Letters of  Sanata Dharma University batch 2020. His name is Yohanes David Kurniawan, or you can call him Jojo, and he has a hobby of playing a rhythm game titled Pump It Up.

Pump It Up is a rhythm game that requires your feet to play. The idea is like any rhythm game: you have icons that suit the beat of the music, and to press those icons, you step on the buttons accordingly. Pump It Up itself is very famous among rhythm game players. However, it may be unfamiliar to some people.

The first time he played this game was when he and his friends had just finished the national test for high school, but later on, he got addicted and started to play it more often. “When I started college, I could play five times a week.” Kak Jojo said, showing his range of playtime. While playing, he also met a lot of people who were in the Pump It Up community, and that got him more involved.

Being good at the game also needs practice and tremendous determination. To be where he is right now, playing at a high level, also comes with a background story. With the community and friends he made while playing the game, he also got challenges from his friends, such as playing the same song repeatedly until he got an S grade in that particular song, and so on. This experience builds his mentality to be hardworking and determined.

YouTube player

That’s one benefit of playing the game, but not the only benefit. Kak Jojo stated, “I have always been lazy to work, so playing this game helps me build my physical abilities.”  He plays on a high level, and doing it trains your stamina because of how fast the note is, it almost feels like you ran for miles. To add to that statement, he also flexes that when he’s an actor for USD’s English Letters annual musical event EL the musical, he has the second-best stamina record. Side information about EL the musical is a musical performance held yearly by the students of the English Letters Department at Sanata Dharma University.

Yes, he always loved music, so he joined as an actor in 2018 for a piece titled Mamma Mia! He also joined the English Letters Music Organization, so with his experience playing Pump It Up, counting beats was his forte. Playing Pump It Up has a lot of benefits that we might not realize today, but it might come in handy later on in our lives.

Not forgetting about all the benefits above, the significant benefit is that enjoying yourself makes those other benefits come through. “There’s a lot of memories like when we played co-op together, and we might have fallen while doing it, and I missed it when those times died down.” Fun times like this are what make the process enjoyable because you get to meet a lot of new friends, connecting you with people who have the same passion for playing the game.

In conclusion, we all have something that we enjoy doing, and that thing might be underestimated by other people, but as long as we love doing it, who cares? A closing statement from Kak Jojo: “No matter how weird your hobby is, if you enjoy doing it, then go for it.”

 

Journalist: Gregorius Beryl Satya Shira

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Categories
Features People

Priska Jeanny Rosanty: Pushing Ourselves Beyond and Abroad Through IISMA 2023

Priska Jeanny Rosanty, an IISMA awardee of 2023

Sanata Dharma University. Getting out of our comfort zone is an intimidating feeling that we all get. Therefore, as college students, we need to push ourselves beyond our limits to reach our goals. That was what Priska Jeanny Rosanty did when she wanted to become an IISMA awardee.

“My motivation to apply for IISMA was to push myself beyond my limits,” Priska said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I am most grateful for what I have been taught at Sanata Dharma University, but I see IISMA as an opportunity for me to grow more, and because the campus has supported my journey, why not?”

She reminisced about the overwhelming feelings of shock running through her mind the day the IISMA announcement was released. She admitted she did not expect to be accepted, especially because the announcement was postponed from the usual evening schedule to midnight. At 11.59 p.m. She finally got the information that was about to change her life. She got accepted as an IISMA awardee in 2023.

“When I knew I was accepted, it was shocking. I could not sleep all night, and it was overwhelming,” Priska mused.

Her journey to be where she is right now was a long-winded journey. The road to reaching her goal wasn’t always smooth. There were so many steps for her to get through, and one of them was getting as much information about IISMA as possible. Priska explained, “I knew about IISMA when I was a freshman. The campus informed us about IISMA in Jaksa (Jalinan Akrab Sastra) and Potluck Party. Then, when I was in my third semester, there was a seminar that brought alums of IISMA from the English Letters Faculty and English Language Education Department. I learned a lot from the seminar, especially about what kind of documents were required.”

“I started preparing my documents in November 2022, but there were a lot of changes like the requirements of files changed and the rules from IISMA changed. So, I literally went back and forth to the secretariat office and contacted BKHI (Biro Kerjasama dan Hubungan Internasional). IISMA also requires EPT, aka English Proficient Test,” she added. Further information, IISMA provides you with multiple options for choosing between IELTS, TOEFL, and even Duolingo. As for her, she took the IELTS test short on time. 

“January was when I was preparing myself for the test, and February was the test time,” Priska said. “Then the essay. I started writing in December, and I got so many revisions from a few people who were willing to help me, but I submitted my essay close to the deadline. So, more or less, you can picture how hectic it would be when preparing yourself for IISMA.”

She then shared tips and tricks on preparing for IISMA for anyone interested in applying. “The tips and tricks, first and foremost, is to prepare yourself well. Be curious about IISMA; like really dig all the information about it. The second and third semester is the perfect time to explore many things. Remember the EPT test, the essay, and the required documents, and please don’t be short on time to prepare it. Also, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the other awardees. We’re actually nice people,” she smiled.

Priska added, “Most importantly, don’t hesitate to contact BKHI because, from my experience, BKHI has helped me a lot, like dealing with signature matters. The point is, if you want to join IISMA, don’t keep everything to yourself. It’s okay to seek other people’s help.”

Going abroad might be the most exciting thing to expect for some people, and Priska was one of them. She was giddy to experience new things; new friends, cultures, and views. “I can’t wait to meet the locals and get to know them. I also want to know how different the education system there, like the courses. We rarely don’t have a few courses, but they exist abroad, so I can’t wait to experience it,” she said.

There’s a popular proverb in Indonesia that can describe Priska’s journey: berakit-rakit dahulu, berenang-renang ke tepian.  Every step she needed to get through will gain her much more in the future. “A lesson I learned from preparing myself for IISMA is do not expect the progress will be smooth,” Priska advised. “After all, life is unexpected. Don’t stop doing what you’re doing and keep on going. Remember, you’re going to be great, so please don’t overthink things.”

 

Author: Kenar Syalaisha Kanayana

Editor: Nanda Pratama Putera Tomasila, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Categories
Features People

Markus Zusak: How Failure Gives Success Greater Meaning

Pic: Markus Zusak by Carly Earl, 2018. The Guardian

“Every success I’ve had been wrapped in a gift box of failure.”
-Markus Zusak

Markus Zusak was born on June 23rd, 1975 in Sydney, Australia, with Austrian-German roots. He is an Australian author who has written six books in total, including an international bestseller The Book Thief, which is translated into more than forty languages. His parents were immigrants from Germany and barely spoke English when they arrived in Australia. They didn’t want their children to face the same problem, so they encouraged them to read and communicate in English. Zusak graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education. Then, he worked as a teacher before becoming an author.

Just like any other author, Zusak’s journey to be an author was not an easy road. He was rejected by every publisher until he finally got the chance to publish his first novel in 1999. He didn’t get famous instantaneously, instead he had to do his first reading in a small town which no one came.

The Underdog is his first novel and the first book of the trilogy. It is an adult fiction about Cameron, the youngest child in a working-class family and the narrative is about Cameron’s struggle in defining himself and his morality. The sequel was published in 2000 titled Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and the final book of the trilogy titled When Dogs Cry (published in America with a different title, Getting the Girl) was published a year later. Following the trilogy, Zusak published his fourth book, The Messenger, in 2002 and received the 2003 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award. The Messenger is about a story of a young man who learns to face his fears through experiences from playing games and learning to be a better person by helping people around him from the messages he received.

The Book Thief gave him a big success in his career as an author. In an interview with HuffPost, he said that his parents’ and siblings’ stories about growing up in Austria and Germany during and after World War II inspired him to write The Book Thief. The book is set in Germany during World War II, where Liesel Meminger is adopted by an old married couple in a small town and finds the power of words through books she stole from a Nazi book-burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. Narrated by Death, this novel gives a different point of view for the reader. In the process of writing his fifth book, however, he had a lot of struggle. In the middle of writing The Book Thief, Zusak initially thought that no one would read his book. He spoke about his struggles when he was invited to be a speaker in TEDxSydney 2014. He changed the narration several times, from Death to Liesel’s point of view, to third-person narration, and back to Death again.

Throughout the process, he faced the failures of trying to find a suitable narration and overcome his insecurities and struggles, which befriended him along with failure. “What I found with that problem was that all of those failures had one tiny success in them for the next pages,” he said after speaking about his struggles on writing his fifth book. With those failures, Zusak admitted that the failure had given him the power to imagine around the problems; it’s given him a greater motivation and encouraged him to follow his own vision. Zusak found that writing is an arena with failures in the air. Failures shape us to  have greater respect for ourselves, for the tasks we do, and for our will to stay in that failure.

Journalist: Yohana Satvika Wahyuveda

Editor: Cynthia Olga Handoko, Fransiskus Nino (QC)

Categories
Features People

Liveliness from Passion: Reyna Qotrunnada Salsabillah

Yogyakarta, (05/08/2021) —As part of English Literature 2020, Reyna Qotrunnada Salsabillah is a student who actively participates various activities in campus. On this occasion, Reyna shared her experience of participation in campus activities such as Class Meeting 2020 and took part in big events such as Insadha 2021. Reyna have ambition to participate in activities that had a wide range that utilize her own passion.

Reyna has her passion in arts, especially in music and singing. Thus, she decided to join Siesen in Insadha 2021. Her goal joining Insadha 2021 is to be able to sing jingle songs which is sung by many students in campus. Not only that, earlier in her freshmen year, Reyna also participated in the song cover competition during Class Meeting 2020 and she won the competition that made her class feel proud. Her other hobbies when she has free time are reading books, watching movies, listening to music to add a lot of vocabulary. Outside of campus activities right now she is taking in her friend short films’ project as a scriptwriter and also taking part in the selection of soundtracks.

Of course, participating in various activities in campus and outside has advantages, such as having many friends and relations as well as gaining knowledge which is very precious and useful for the future. But also campus activity and her outside activity can be really hectic. Even though she is very busy, she also said that she’s lucky to have her friends near her “I’m very grateful to have many friends who always support and worry about her health because she joined many activities on campus.”

Her next goals in campus activities are that she wants to explore Sanata Dharma more. Explore all activities and people to find new experiences, friends, and knowledge. She also wants to bring something positive for Sadhar, whether from small things like my singing activities or later maybe other activities. Reyna still wants to attend big events outside campus to find new experiences and knowledge despite the pandemic. In the end, she clearly stated that she will not be leaving her academics behind, as it is as important as her desire to have her music & her work noticed and remembered well on campus.

 

Reporter: Sara Immaculata Terra I.

Writer: Fatimah Fauziah

 Editor: Michael Tan

Categories
People

Dalan Mehuli Perangin Angin: From the local ones, to the global ones

Born in Fak-Fak, Papua, and raised in Brebes, Central Java, Mr. Dalan Mehuli Perangin-angin has been quite a nomadent since a very young age. This peculiarity allowed him to be exposed to the diverse perspectives, cultures, and especially, languages from time to time.

While looking back, Mr. Dalan admits that he indeed always favors study languages, especially the local ones. Javanese, Ngapak, Malay Palembang, and Papuan are some of numerous local languages that he is fluent in. 

The USD English Letters’ alumnee shared with us that he was once jokingly aspiring to speak one hundred languages, but precisely, he had never dreamed to be a linguist. His current career is rather a life calling that had never been imagined nor planned before.

At the following year after graduated, the gentleman of Karo descent initiated his career as a research assistant at Jakarta Field Station, Max Planc Institute (a German-based institute which focuses on the language research) which turned out, opened him a new page. His strong interest in linguistic research, allowed him to travel as far as Utretch, Netherlands and Hong Kong, China to pursue his master and doctoral degree in language study accordingly which further assured his path as a linguist. He attained realization during his academic years, that it is crucial for Indonesian ourselves to employ our own certain approach in studying our language, especially in the midst of recurring Eurocentric frameworks which still denotes the study of the local languages.

In Jakarta Field Station, Mr. Dalan started his contribution in a rather contemporary discipline: the documentation of languages. He told us that there are more than 800 languages around the globe that are currently in danger.  In the spher of Indonesia, the languages of Eastern Indonesia or what so called as Non-Austronesian languages or Papuan languages are losing its speakers significantly. Mr. Dalan’s focus is to documentate these endangered languages, so that the future generations could stay in touch with the footprints and preserve the language.  One of the Papuan languages that Mr. Dalan focused in his research is Pagu language, a minority language spoken in Halmahera (Molucca), which proposals later brought him to his doctoral study.

After frequently moving from place to place as a researcher, in 2018, Mr. Dalan decided to settle. He decided to return to the place where he spent the rest of his undergraduate days, The English Letters Department USD, to teach younger students. Being a teacher in our department doesn’t equal leaving the research field for Mr. Dalan. He believes in “Tri Dharma”, that one (an academician) is supposed to hold: pedagogy, research, and community dedication. It was pretty foreign for Mr. Dalan to teach in the classroom at first as his early background is a field researcher, but in the end, the linguist is meant to adapt. He also points out regarding the aspect of contribution that it is indeed as significant as other aspects. Currently, he with other lecturers are planning on the project to do English training for Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Hong.

In correlation with Integrity’s current theme of “Serendipity”, Mr. Dalan is glancing back to his older days, that in the midst of every struggle, one, at the end, could achieve the confidence and success. It is the numerous challenges that made one could encounter a good thing in the end, indeed, with the hardworks of difficult times. He never thought that he would return to Jogja, during his academic journey. He points out that it is important to remain adaptable wherever he goes, including respecting the locals with distinct norms and cultures in different places. In the end, Mr. Dalan wishes the success for every English Letters’ students. He believes that with the background in English language and literature, one could deliver their aspiration and knowledge to the whole world, out there, while it’s also very noteworthy to remain in touch with our local cultures and background. Let’s wish Mr. Dalan every happiness and success in his future endeavour!

Journalist: Nathaniel Alvino R. Prima 

Editor: Michael Tan 

Categories
People

Julieth Amanda: Joining many organizations without feeling burdened

Even though she’s just entering new campus life, it doesn’t stop Julieth Amanda from joining many organizations.

In her first year, she joined 4 organizations. At the university level, she joins Jalinan Kasih Mahasiswa Katolik (JKMK) and Grisada, which is a dance club, as well as HMPS and English Debate Society (EDS) in English Letters.

She also joins several communities outside the campus and often participates in church’s events. In addition, she mentioned joining several other communities outside the church and campus, but because she is not the caretaker, she is just there for the ride.

There is a reason why she wants to join many organizations. Back when she was in high school, she was quite the opposite. “When I was in high school, I only joined one or two organizations, and it was not as big as now,” she said.

However, she changed when she entered university. Now she tends to be more active in finding activities such as those organizations. She said that she is grateful to be given the confidence to join and participate in many organizations. In fact, by joining many of them, she has gotten a lot of benefits. One of them is that she can learn from her friends and seniors not only in class but also in those organizations, either for study material or university student’s life, especially as an English Letter student.

Because of her organizations, she is aware that she is very busy. She said that even though she is not perfect, she tries to manage her time. But, her schedule is quite flexible. “It’s not like my busy schedule is so stressful, but it’s more like if organization A has an agenda and is not as urgent as A, I take priority,” She said. “Yes it is busy, but it is manageable,” she continued.

During this era, she said that she had thought about whether or not she could carry out all of her activities. However, she manages to keep up with her activities. According to her, so far there is no big complaint, but sometimes she takes a break for a meeting. However, in the end, she is glad and thankful because she can do her activities. Even her friends are surprised that she is able to manage her time despite joining many organizations.

She concludes by saying: “I know this is really tiring, but it is fun. I like to get together and to join organizations, that’s what makes me not feel burdened.”

 


Journalist: Michael Surya Dikdaya Pradipta 

Editor: Alma Anindita 

Categories
Features People

Andrew Carnegie: Finding Success in Failures

The man who dies thus rich, dies disgraced.

Andrew Carnegie

The quote aforementioned is one of the most popular quotes of Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie is known to have been one of the wealthiest men in the world in his final years with US$ 475 million. That would be US$372 billion in today’s dollars. That is a lot of money. But Carnegie did not reach success on a silver platter. He went through a lot of tremendous hardships even since he was a kid. In this feature, the author will share three great obstacles that led Andrew Carnegie to a very successful life.

First, in Scotland when he was a kid, his family was struggling to make ends meet. His father, William Carnegie, worked as a jobbing handloom weaver. However, a great predicament had to be faced. During this time, large weaving mills with looms powered by waterwheels were invented. These had some development that was later replaced by steam engines. The consequence of this brand-new idea resulted in massive unemployment, lowered wages for laborers, and cheaper prices for clothing production. Carnegie’s mother, Margaret Morrison Carnegie, attempted to help the family by opening a small food store. However, this could not help much. In 1848, Carnegie’s parents had to sell all of their possessions and borrow £20 from some friends so that they could move into Pennsylvania, the United States of America. By this time, Andrew Carnegie, who was born on 25 November 1835, was only twelve years old.

Second, he had to stop his formal education and began to work to help his family. In the same year he arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he began to look for a job to help his family make ends meet. He applied for a bobbin boy at a cotton mill for US$1.20 seven days a week, each day for twelve hours.  This job was somewhat dangerous. Carnegie who was only 12 years old would bring bobbins to the women at the looms and collected the full bobbins of spun cotton or wool thread. Moreover, if there was a minor problem with the machine, it was his task to fix it as well. One year later, Carnegie worked as a messenger boy at the Ohio Telegraph Company for US$2 seven days a week. Carnegie was very diligent and nimble that soon he could read messages only by ear. This trusted Carnegie to a new level. He got promoted to the operator and this made him very busy. However, he kept on educating himself. He attended night school in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and he learned reading and writing.

Last but not least, Carnegie had to call off his engagement with his dream woman, Louise Whitfield, because his mother stepped in. She thought Carnegie was already very successful and there were no girls that were good enough for her beloved son. Eventually, Carnegie became engaged secretly with Whitfield in September 1883. However, Carnegie realized he could not get married when her mother was still alive. Three years later, his mother passed away after right three weeks his brother, Thomas Carnegie died of pneumonia. The loss of Carnegie’s loved ones made him grief for some time. However, the love of his life, Louise Whitfield, made him feel great again. Five months after the passing of his mother, Andrew Carnegie finally married Whitfield on April 22, 1887. Carnegie felt very lucky to be married to his wife. He often said, “I can’t imagine myself without Lou’s guardianship”. Whitfield helped Carnegie make big decisions wisely. She also supported what Carnegie did, including giving away US$350 million to help the poor and the need. Carnegie thought Whitfield was a very good woman that she did not want to marry someone already successful. Carnegie met Whitfield unexpectedly when he visited John Whitfield, a textile merchant who happened to be his father, through a mutual friend in 1880. In conclusion, Andrew Carnegie always found good things in every obstacle he encountered. Struggling with ends meet due to the industrial revolution in Scotland, he and his family had to sell everything and sailed to America. In this land, Carnegie changed his life completely. He learned to work since he was twelve years old and learn at night after work. This shaped and molded Carnegie’s skills and mindset. When he was already successful, he found a gem without looking for it. He met his perfect woman unexpectedly and she became made him feel very lucky because she was such a supportive wife.

 

Writer: Riska Karina Sari Turnip 

Editor: Ivana Belinda