November 24, 2022, Universitas Gadjah Mada has graduated many students from various faculties, including 129 students from the  Faculty of Cultural Sciences, of whom 8 are students from English Studies Programme. We had an opportunity to interview one of the graduates, Fatta Conny. She is an English Studies Programme student from batch 2019 who is also the first student to graduate from that class. She finished her studies in 3 years and 2 months, making her the fastest graduate in her batch.

Icha: Good morning, Mbak Fatta, Hello, my name is Faricha. You can call me Icha. I am from the English Studies Program 2020. Here, I would like to ask you some questions about your college life, especially when you were working on your undergraduate thesis. The thing that came to mind when I heard the news about a student who finished her study in 3 years and 2 months is freaking me out, like, ‘How could she do that?’ Since you are in front of me, I would like to congratulate you on your graduation, Mbak Fatta.

Fatta: Thank you very much, Icha.

Icha: So, the first question is, ‘How does it feel to be the first and fastest graduate in your batch?’

Fatta: I feel satisfied because this is an outstanding achievement for me personally. Also, this is one of my goals that can be attained in my final study. To be honest, I had planned on doing this since the fourth semester, and I finally did it.

Icha: Well, that sounds so amazing, and what is your motivation to graduate really quickly? 3 years and 2 months is a short period of time.

Fatta: The term “If becoming the fastest is achievable, why do we not strive for it” can answer this question (laugh). Besides that, I want to make my parents proud of me. They have sacrificed everything they have, and it is my turn to make them smile through my achievement. 

Staff: With that motto and motivation, did you still find any difficulties when you were working on your undergraduate thesis? And how did you deal with it?

Fatta: When I realised that my college thesis topic was something I was truly passionate about, that was the greatest moment of my life. Thankfully, I didn’t have to devote a lot of time to it. In my opinion, the most challenging part of writing a thesis was scheduling regular meetings with one’s supervisor to discuss one’s progress. To put it another way, we can’t just write a thesis on ourselves. The assistance of our supervisor is still required. The thing we need to be aware of is that our supervisors have a full schedule, so if our plans don’t work with theirs, it may be difficult. Therefore, in short, don’t be a procrastinator.

Staff: You stated that wanting to make your parents proud is one of your driving forces. How did the people in your life—your parents, your professors, and perhaps even your friends—encourage you while you were writing your undergraduate thesis? 

Fatta: All the people around me have been really supportive. My parents have been a constant source of strength for me. Because of them, I could push through and get it done. Even when I just got back from community service (KKN), they always reminded me about my thesis (laugh). It was only recently that I realised how crucial those inspirations are for maintaining my upward momentum. My academic advisor, Dra. Sharifah Hanidar, M.Ed., is always there to help me out when I need her advice. Rahmawan Jatmiko, S.S., M.A., is my advisor for my undergraduate thesis. He encourages and pushes me to finish the project as quickly as possible. He also gave me a deadline of September 2022 to defend my undergraduate thesis. But since my community service (KKN) grade has yet to appear in my transcript, I couldn’t make it. 

Staff: The next question is, ‘Could you give us, as students in the English Studies Programme, tips and tricks to do an undergraduate thesis as effectively as possible?’

Fatta: Emm, I think taking full credits (SKS) each semester and trying your best to get the best score you can achieve are the tips. Based on my previous experience, I always take full credits (24 credits) from semester 1 until semester 5. Then, in the remaining semester, I can take another credit that can be adjusted to my interests. But remember to take and finish the mandatory courses because we can only graduate if the compulsory courses have been taken. I always keep in touch with my best academic supervisor, Bu Hani, regarding my plans. Fortunately, she always supports me and helps me reach my own goal. If I may be honest, I have been working on my undergraduate thesis since the end of semester 6 while taking the Proposal Writing course. So I was writing two things at once. When I worked on my undergraduate thesis, I also set my time and goals, like when I should finish chapter one and so on. After getting a revision from my undergraduate thesis supervisor, I revised it as soon as possible and returned it to him to be rechecked.

Icha: Last question, could you give some words of encouragement to the English Studies Programme students working hard on their thesis?

Fatta: Don’t procrastinate in adding one or two sentences to your thesis. Remember, little progress is still progress. (Laugh)

Transcript by: Faricha Adzkia Hamida, English Studies Programme, 2020

Edited and proofread by: Adiba Qonita Zahroh, S.S., M.Litt.

On November 8 and 9, 2022, the English Studies Association Indonesia (ESAI) held their annual congress at Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, which was attended by department heads and lecturers of English studies programmes from various universities in Indonesia. At the conference, Dr Adi Sutrisno, M.A., was appointed the head of the association. The English Studies Programme would like to congratulate Dr Adi Sutrisno, M.A., on becoming the head of ESAI. We wish him success as he prepares to take up the responsibilities and challenges of leading ESAI into realizing its potential and beyond.

Written by: Zitta Arlivia, English Studies Programme, 2019

Proofread: Adiba Qonita Zahroh, S.S., M.Litt.

On Saturday, September 30, 2022, the Community Service by English Studies Programme at Muhammadiyah Highschool in Bumiayu was carried out. On September 26, 2022, an online conference was held through Zoom prior to the main event. Dr Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani, the chief of community service, explained community service and the planned activities to the students of Muhammadiyah High School during the online conference. This service’s primary objective is to promote an application called Grammarly, bolster students’ confidence in English writing, and educate them on the dangers of plagiarism. After delivering an opening address, Muhammad Faqih Maftuh, S.Ag, the principal of Muhammadiyah Highschool, officially began the event at 9:00 a.m. in the school’s study hall.

The main event commenced immediately after the English Department professors of Universitas Gadjah Mada, including Dr Adi Sutrisno, M.A., Dr Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani, M.A., and Dr Tofan Dwi Hardjanto, M.A., delivered their introductory remarks on English writing. The Muhammadiyah Bumiayu students were attentively following the presented materials. The presentation’s focus was the application of Grammarly. It is an application that helps authors identify and automatically repair grammatical errors in their work. Bagas, one of the English Studies Programme students who also contributed as a presenter, demonstrated the methods, how-to’s, and tips and tricks for applying for the programme clearly and straightforwardly under the supervision of Dr Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani, M.A.

Students were assigned a brief article describing Bumiayu’s tourist potential to be completed after the presentation. After they finished, they were given a break while their essays were read, scored, and the best excerpts were collected for a booklet. Those whose articles were selected will be rewarded monetarily.

Everything went off without a hitch, and a quick photo session was arranged to honour the winners of the best-written essay contest thereafter.

Written by: Mohammad Anandhya Averill Sulistyo, English Studies Programme 2020
Proofread by: Adiba Qonita Zahroh, S.S., M.Litt.

Community Service is an annual event hosted by the English Studies Programme at Universitas Gadjah Mada to execute one of the Three Pillars of Higher Education. This year, the theme of the Community Service was ‘PkM UGM in Collaboration with SMA N 5 Purworejo: Developing Speaking Skills through Storytelling.’ The goal of this Community Service is to foster speaking skills in a way that not only encourages participants to pronounce words correctly but also to speak with the proper intonation and articulation. In addition to learning about modulation, pitch, tempo, pause, and tone through storytelling, the participants gained valuable skills for future public speaking opportunities.

The community service was held for three days at SMA Negeri 5 Purworejo on September 19, September 23, and September 24, 2022. There were both online and in-person meetings during the event. The date for the online class was set on September 19, 2022. It was to deliver the materials about storytelling to the participants by English Studies Programme lecturers Dra. Sharifah Hanidar, M.Ed., Dra. Rio Rini Diah Moehkardi, M.A., and Adiba Qonita Zahroh, S.S., M.Litt. On the same day, the lecturers provided six folktales from six countries from which the participating students could choose.  The following three days were planned to be dedicated to the participants engaging in individual practise.

On the 23rd and 24th of October, the team, consisting of the English Studies Programme lecturers and students, visited the venue to meet teachers and students of SMA Negeri 5 Purworejo. On the first day, small groups of English Department students were set to provide mentorship. The next day, from 10 am to 12 pm, another mentorship session was scheduled. Following a short break of an hour, the participants were given a full two hours to tell stories as the primary focus of the programme. The announcement of the top three performances then followed. The event was closed at 4 PM with closing statements from the head of the community service committee and the representative teachers from SMA Negeri 5 Purworejo.

Written by: Rahma Az-Zahra, English Studies Programme 2020
Proofread by: Adiba Qonita Zahroh, S.S., M.Litt.