goodmorningpapua.com – Born and raised in Jayapura, Papua, Diyanah Afifah Ramadhaniyati has just graduated with a master’s degree in international affairs from the American University in Washington, D.C.
The woman who is familiarly called Diyanah has won a master’s scholarship from the Education Fund Management Institute or LPDP specifically for the affirmation area of eastern Indonesia from the government.
This is a full scholarship that pays for the recipient starting from the English language training process, visa application, tuition fees to the cost of living in the destination country.
Diyanah dreams of being able to continue her master’s education after graduating from a bachelor’s degree majoring in international relations from University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. When she received information about the LPDP scholarship which was specifically aimed at citizens from eastern Indonesia, she immediately applied without rethinking.
Having ever aspired to become a diplomat, the woman born in 1996 was determined to be a representative of the citizens of eastern Indonesia at the international level. He put this desire into writing which became one of the important requirements when applying for a scholarship. Who would have thought that his determination had succeeded in getting her selected for this scholarship.
However, Diyanah’s struggle is not over. After passing the scholarship selection, she still had to struggle to apply to the intended university. At that time one of the challenges was English.
Fortunately, LPDP provides free English language training for 4 months in Bandung, to prepare the recipients of this scholarship before applying to the desired university.
Her choice fell on American University in Washington, D.C., because the university offers a major that is still related to her field of interest, namely International Relations.
In 2019, Diyanah set foot in America. When the first semester had just been running, she admitted that he had had a culture shock in the learning process. As an international student, Diyanah admits that she is more required to participate in class.
Currently, Diyanah is working as a program assistant intern at a non-profit organization, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation in Washington, D.C., which oversees cooperation between America and countries in East Asia, especially Japan.
This 1 year work permit is granted to international graduates through a program called an Optional Practical Training. The picked job must also be in accordance with the field of study taken. Finding a job is not easy and very competitive, given that the Washington, D.C. area is one of the destinations for graduates in the field they are engaged in.
There are many opportunities to study in the United States with scholarships. Scholarships for short education in America are also available, one of which is through a 10-month program, the Community College Initiative Program-AMINEF or CCIP, which is being undertaken by Rosfatima Jamal who is familiarly called Oca.
Oca was placed in the state of Virginia to study for 10 months at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia. One of the challenges is that participants are required to take knowledge that is contrary to the education they have previously taken in their home country.
Oca gained valuable experience when he received news that she had succeeded in getting this scholarship. Oca’s success is an achievement of a dream that he has been pursuing for the past few years.
Having failed 18 times to go abroad for scholarships, this woman from the village of Langgowala which is about 82 km from Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi finally left for the United States last August to take a short education through the CCIP program in the state of Virginia.
Always remembering the words of her late father, this woman who is familiarly called Oca chooses to never give up in pursuing her dreams.
Since graduating from undergraduate studies majoring in communication science from Tadulako University, Palu, in 2015, Oca had worked at a private TV station. She also decided to resign in 2016 and focus on studying English at “Kampung Inggris” at Pare, as a provision to seek scholarships that could take him to higher education abroad.
Initially, Oca tried to find a master’s degree scholarship through AAS (Australia Awards Scholarships) to study in Australia and Chevening to England. However, she failed to break through both.
Not giving up, Oca then applied for various scholarships for various short programs to increase his knowledge, untill for many times. She succeeded to get four scholarships for short programs, however, she got failed to leave due to financial constraints.
One of Oca’s most memorable experiences as long as in America was when she became a volunteer as a part of the CCIP program.
This program targets participants to be volunteer for a total of 100 hours in 10 months. Without realizing that Oca has been living in America for four months. She was finally able to fulfill her dream to study abroad and gain new experiences in America.