Work, Learn, and Grow with PPIA

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1911

Being the Vice President of PPIA Western Australia has given me a lot of experiences and opportunities. To give a little bit of background, PPI or Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia is a student organisation with branches all over the world. Most universities in the world has its own branch of PPI which works in affiliation with their PPI representatives in the country itself.

Taking a part in this organisation is something that I treasure dearly. It has given me a lot of opportunities, experiences, and life lessons which help shape me into who I am today. PPIA has become my second family away from home while I am pursuing my degree.

Curtin University, Perth
Curtin University, Perth

I first joined this organisation back in 2014 when I was the secretary of PPIA Curtin University. After a year, I was promoted to become the Vice President of PPIA Western Australia. As time goes by, my friends started to ask me why I wanted to join this time-consuming organisation. Frankly, with the degree I am taking, it is nearly impossible for me to have ample time to manage an organisation. As expected, I struggled a lot initially. But in the end I can proudly say that the eventual rewards more than justify all those sleepless nights and constant juggling with my study and organisation management. It is worth noting that PPIA is more than just an organisation where you can meet and hangout with fellow Indonesian students. It gives you an opportunity to represent Indonesia wherever you are pursuing your degree, which is a privilege that not anyone can easily get.

Committee of PPIA Western AustraliaCommittee of PPIA Western Australia

In the past, I have managed some events in PPIA with a same goal: to promote our culture and to embrace it. Event management is not as easy as it may sound as there are always challenging problems here and there: brainstorming the event details, deciding the right theme, venue, ticketing, fundraising to organising the event rundown. Everything is very complicated. However, I gained valuable skills and lessons from this experience, such as how to run a meeting, come to an agreement with another party, write a proper letter or email, properly follow protocols, and many more which helped prepare me for the next stage: the professional world. On a related note, PPIA has also given me an opportunity to broaden my network. This is valuable especially since as a commerce student majoring in Financial Planning, I don’t have a lot of time to build connections. All in all, PPIA has facilitated me with a favourable growth environment where I am able to learn and grow professionally.

“Killing two birds with one stone” is the perfect idiom to describe my journey in PPIA. During my two-year long tenure, which ended last month, I have gotten the chance to improve my work ethics, embrace differences, meet new people, and have long-lasting friendships. These key values are parts of PPIA’s contribution to help me grow and transcend my limit. For that, I am forever grateful.

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