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“Studying as a young man is like carving on a rock. Studying in an old age is like carving on water.” We often hear this Indonesian proverb spoken to encourage young people to actively study. However, studying is no longer limited by age now. Everyone is free to learn and become a better person. For some people, studying is the way to reach happiness. The same is true for Winarsih, a graduate from the Master of Management study, concentrating in Financial Management, at Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya Graduate School. For her, studying can provide an opportunity to become a better person.
Winarsih, who is more familiarly known by the name Wina, was born in Ambon in 1988. She was raised in Waiputih Village in North Seram, which is part of the Central Maluku Regency. When a local war broke out in her region in 1999, Wina and her family moved from Ambon to Malang. They then migrated to Bengkulu in the southwest coast of Sumatera island, precisely in Bukit Makmur Village, Muara Sahung District, Kaur-Bengkulu. The village was a very remote village at that time. She lived in the middle of the forest, where educational facilities at that time were very minimal and limited. Something that was supposed to be available for children, such as education, became almost non-existent. But the situation did not become an obstacle for Wina to study. She looked for various information about universities in Indonesia that were affordable and strategic. “I received information from several people about WMCUS. Many advised me to study there. Besides that, their Faculty of Business was also good,” Wina said.
Before studying at WMCUS, Wina, who likes to play table tennis, swim, and travel, had previously worked as a female labor for household (shortened as TKW in Bahasa Indonesia) for 6 years and 2 months in Singapore and Hong Kong. At that time, Wina’s last diploma was a high school diploma, but she was able to collect enough money above the minimum standard of living from working as a migrant worker. During that time, she was determined to save money in order to further her education to a higher level. At present time, Wina is married and has one daughter. Her schedule is busy on a daily basis with responsibilities as a mother and wife, while still also helping her husband handling their business. “If there is anything that I can do, I will do the work. I guess you can say that I’m a versatile assistant,” she added.
She completed her undergraduate degree in the International Business Management (IBM) Program at WMCUS Faculty of Business. Many things motivated Wina to continue pursuing her education to the master level. First, she wanted to make her parents happy and proud. Second, she realized that by having only an undergraduate degree, finding a job would not necessarily be easy for her. Third, Wina had already set a goal a long time ago when she was still a migrant worker that she wanted to continue her education. Fourth, she wanted to pursue a Master’s degree in financial management. Vienna admitted that she wanted to learn something different and interesting. In fact, she received a full support from her husband to pursue her Master degree. Due to her enthusiasm, Wina achieved the Best Academic Graduate for the 2017/2018 Even Semester Graduation Ceremony.
During the completion of her Master education, Wina had participated in developing ideas for a Financial and Technology (FINTECH) event. Because of her experience, Wina became an independent person, no longer a nervous person when having to deal with problems, and also more confident. “Hopefully in the future, I want to get an experience working at a bank or financial institution, if allowed by my husband,” she joked. She also gave an advice to other people to never be afraid in taking a new step. “If our intentions are good, then there will always be a way out.”
