Musa Izzanardi Wijanarko Graduated from ITB at 18

By Adi Permana

Editor Vera Citra Utami

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id — Musa Izzanardi Wijanarko was one of the central attentions during the third graduation of ITB’s 2020/2021. He graduated as the youngest student of ITB on Saturday (17/7/2021). At the time he graduated, he was 18 years old.

Musa Izzanardi Wijanarko, mostly known as Izzan, was an undergraduate program student in Mathematics from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) ITB. He chose mathematics as he had been fond of this subject since he was a child. Besides, his parents and siblings were also ITB graduates.

Izzan enrolled at ITB in 2017. He used to be a homeschool student. As he never enrolled in formal school, he felt strange in the beginning. Yet, he had fun when studying in the class. He could meet new people with unique points of view and interests.

“I think ITB students are weird. But it is fine because I’m as weird as anyone,” he said jokingly.

During his college years, Izzan got lots of advice from his classmates and seniors. They said that he needed to socialize more. Then, Izzan decided to join Genshiken because this activity met his interest.

Izzan was not interested in joining competitions, so he focused on joining organizations. He was the chief of information media of Genshiken ITB during the 2019/2020 period, a chief of staff training logistic division of Genshiken ITB in 2019, a chief of mega property division of HIMATIKA July Graduation in 2019.

He had his own way to manage his time. He used to balance his time on academics and organization by learning class material in the class. By doing so, he did not have to spend too much time learning after the class was over. He preferred to spend his leisure time focusing on non-academics things.

At the time he was about to start creating the final report, the pandemic took place. Izzan thought that it would not affect him. On the other hand, he became frustrated and less motivated to start the class and finished his final assignment and report.

“I used to go to the gym to procrastinate from learning and doing the final report. Fortunately, my lecturer was good, so I could finish it. I could graduate well though I had to pass such hard times. I am glad that I could graduate in July 2021,” he said.

When he was still 14 years old, he had motivated himself to graduate at a very young age. He once felt that all the subjects in high school were not interesting at all. Then, he started to enroll at ITB. During college, he planned to graduate within four years, and he tried very hard. He said that his success was mere because of the support from families and friends. His friends had been very supportive during his hard times.

Izzan did not think that he had different efforts than other students. He also felt less motivated, particularly after the mid-term test. He rarely studied and found it hard to focus which resulted in a low-grade final exam. “College is challenging, especially for those who can not manage time and themselves. I experienced it,” he recalled.

Fortunately, Izzan managed to go through the ups and downs of college life. After graduating, the following steps were still mysteries. He wondered about his future and hoped that he could find something he wanted.

Reporter: Dheamyra Aysha Ihsanti (Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, 2019)
Translator: Zahra Annisa Fitri (Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, 2019)