(23/03/2022) Student Achievement Selection (Pilmapres) – an event that is quite prestigious; that is what I thought as a first-semester student who had just been accepted to the Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris study programme, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman when I saw a post on social media. A Mapres is certainly not an ordinary student, because becoming one of them requires competent abilities both in academic and non-academic fields. “Can I become a Mapres?” I muttered at that time.
Greetings, I am Kurnia Akbar Santoso, a student of PBING 2019 UNSOED. Since childhood, my mother always told me “Be a great person, like the meaning of your name: Akbar.” That message has always been my motivation, which means I must be a student who is not just ordinary. With such a principle, I pursued my studies from semester to semester seriously and to the fullest while still enjoying them, because English is something I have been passionate about since elementary school, or as it is commonly called passion. Therefore, I pursued my studies with joy. In addition, I also participated in activities that develop personality and soft skills such as the student association HIMEDITION, service activities, and so on; because it is unfortunate if activities are only spent in the classroom in front of books.
Before I knew it, because I was enjoying my studies, I had already entered semester 4 (2021). In previous semesters, my intention to participate in Pilmapres decreased somewhat due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused concern, but it did not dampen my spirit for studying because I could still engage in activities I enjoy (English) even though everything was done online with all its limitations. Until early semester 4, I was recommended by lecturers to participate in Pilmapres at the faculty level. Immediately I felt surprised, somewhat anxious, mixed with pride and happiness like a rainbow – mejikuhibiniu. I felt anxious because one of the aspects being assessed is a scientific paper, while I had never written one before. That did not weaken my determination, because I would certainly be guided by supervising lecturers. After passing the selection at the study programme level, I was selected to advance to the faculty level. Feeling entrusted with great responsibility, my seriousness increased. Aspects to be assessed such as scientific papers, presentations, documents of academic achievements (GPA), and non-academic achievements such as organizational and committee work were prepared over several weeks. Writing the scientific paper required extra effort because this was my first time writing. The competitors I would face were certainly also competent, as they were selected from other study programmes in the faculty. This made me somewhat doubtful, but I decided to focus on myself. Until the time came to compete in the arena; the faculty Pilmapres took place in one day – the peak of the struggle. The classic principle “Effort will not betray results” is true. Alhamdulillah, I achieved second place in this Pilmapres.
From that I learned that in order to achieve success, the first thing is to love the field of study you pursue so that any activity or challenge can still be enjoyed. Comparing ourselves with others is necessary but not good if it is excessive. Don’t compete with anybody. Compete with yourself instead. Become a better person than who you were yesterday. Dare to try, because if you only do what you can do, you will never be more than who you are now. (KAS)