Elfa Harningsih (48) still feels her legs trembling. Not only that, but she also feels highly nervous as she stands at the podium at Grha Sabha Pramana (GSP) UGM. It’s no wonder, as hundreds of eyes are on her while she delivers a speech representing the parents of the new UGM students of the 2024 batch.
In front of the UGM leadership and hundreds of new students’ parents, the woman from Sungai Naniang Village, Bukit Barisan Subdistrict, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra, tries to find the right words. Occasionally, she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. It never crossed Elfa’s mind that she would be chosen to deliver the speech on behalf of the new students’ parents. Elfa realizes that she is just an ordinary person. She is merely a housewife who helps her husband, Mardion (54), who works as a farm laborer in a neighbor’s orange grove, earning a modest income.
“Standing at this podium makes my legs tremble. I never imagined I would deliver a welcome speech representing the new students’ parents,” she said haltingly on Monday (29/7) at the New Student Parents Meeting at GSP UGM.
Elfa is the mother of Asysyfa Maisarah (18), who was accepted into the Accounting Study Program at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UGM through the National Selection Based on Achievement (SNBP) pathway or without a test. Asysyfa has been an outstanding student, consistently ranking at the top of her class from middle school through high school, winning various competitions, and receiving scholarships that covered her education expenses. When she was accepted into college, she also secured the Superior Subsidized Single Tuition Fee Scholarship (UKT 0), covering her education costs until graduation.
“Initially, I couldn’t believe our daughter expressed her desire to study at UGM. I felt a mix of emotions then and could only pray for the best for Asysyfa,” she said.
Elfa admitted feeling happy, proud, and grateful when her daughter was accepted at UGM. The happiness was mixed with anxiety about the cost of Asysyfa’s education until graduation. However, her worries quickly vanished when her daughter assured her there would always be a way as long as they kept trying.
“Don’t worry, Bundo, there will be a way, there will be scholarships,” she recalled her daughter saying.
Her anxiety turned to gratitude when she received news that her eldest daughter had received a full scholarship for her college education. Asysyfa was announced as one of the recipients of the 100% subsidized UKT scholarship from FEB UGM.
“This scholarship is a tremendous help for us, who rely solely on a daily wage of Rp 50,000 as farm laborers, and that’s only if someone hires us to tend their garden,” she explained.
Therefore, she expressed her gratitude to UGM for granting the scholarship to her daughter. Through this scholarship, her daughter and other children from underprivileged families can continue their studies at UGM.
“Thank you to UGM, and we entrust our children to be educated here. May our dreams and those of our children be achieved,” she hoped.
Asysyfa is one of the young people who proved that economic limitations do not hinder one’s steps to obtain the best education, even at the university level. The Faculty of Economics and Business at UGM is firmly committed to providing high-quality, accessible education to the community, aiming to realize equitable, inclusive, and fair education.
Reportage: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
Foto: YouTube Chanel Universitas Gadjah Mada
Sustainable Development Goals
