More interestingly, not only excelling in academics, this graduate who came from Central Java also managed to earn many achievements in nonacademic activities. In the national-level competitions, she won the 1st Position in Budi Luhur Business Case Competition 2021 and MBS Ecase Competition Indonesia 2022 which was organized by the Faculty of Economy and Business Universitas Indonesia, TopBoss, and ICETECH Hongkong. During her college years, Vinka was known as a student that very actively participated in various student activities in ITB.

She realized that nonacademic activities could help her improve her soft skills. Therefore, Vinka then decided to join the ITB Management Student Family (KMM) Governing Body as a Vice Manager of Education in 2021, ITB Student Family (KM) as a Directorate General of Accountant in the 2021/2022 period, Research Assistant SBM ITB for joint research with Griffith University Australia, Business Development Staff in TEC ITB, and many more.

Supportive Atmosphere

In an interview with ITB PR Team, Vinka said that a highly supportive academic environment in ITB, especially in SBM ITB, is one the main factors that help her to accomplish her achievements. A learning atmosphere that is conducive and competitive is very beneficial for her development and other SBM students. The collaborative atmosphere that is implemented massively in every course curriculum succeeded in fostering esprit de corps for all students.

"In every semester, students are required to take practical courses with a group project. These practical courses were intended to implement the theories that have been learned in class in addition to improving the student's soft skills," she said to the ITB PR reporter, not long ago.

Know Your Boundaries, Know Your Capacities, And Know Yourself

Aside from a supportive academic environment, Vinka also implemented the "Know your boundaries, know your capacities, and know yourself" principle during her college years at ITB. She said that in making a decision about what activities she will participate in, Vinka always considers the cost and benefit that she would get in the future. She claimed that she is not the kind of student that likes to feel FOMO (fear of missing out) towards her colleagues.

"I, myself, always try to consider the cost and benefit in every activity that I will participate in. Sometimes there are some students that feel FOMO and try to participate in as many activities as they can, but I am a type that is very careful in choosing activities, therefore I can maximize my own potential," she said.

Similar to other students, Vinka's college life also faced many challenges. She told us that in her early college year, she experienced financial difficulty in paying the tuition fee. Vinka's scholarship applications were also refused.

"But I did not give up, and finally my tuition fee reduction was accepted in the second year, and I received another reduction in the third year. I am also very grateful, in the end, I received a scholarship from Bank Indonesia in the second year, and even my final project was funded by the BI Institute," she explained.

A Message for Students

At the end of the interview session, Vinka conveyed a message that to accomplish a grand achievement both academic and non-academic, another key that you can do is by avoiding thinking about unimportant things that have nothing to do with your own self-development.

She advised to always focus on meaningful things and position yourself in a condition where you have full control of yourself. In addition to that, Vinka also said that a student needs to always work smartly so that he can always be effective and efficient.

Reporter: Nur Rama Adamas (Civil Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)