UNAIR NEWS – Thomas Alfa Edison once said “Preparation today determines future achievements”. As a new student, it is very important to prepare yourself as best as possible in the beginning of college life for a better future. The following are tips for optimizing the potentials of freshmen from Mohamad Reza Affandi, 2015 Medical Student and Universitas Airlangga Outstanding Student (Mawapres) 2018.
Understand yourself
Understand your strengths, weaknesses, potential and threats. According to Reza’s experience, it can be known by actively participating in any organization activities, taking tests of interests and talents, as well as asking parents’ opinions.
“I used to join almost all organizations in campus because I really didn’t know my true interests and talents. But slowly I could decide which one should stop in the second year. This is not a matter of wasting time, in my opinion it is precisely the investment of time to really explore the interests, talents, weaknesses, and strengths of an individual. We may be multi-talented so we survive in two or three organizations, “explained Reza, sharing his experience.
Plan Well
According to Reza, planning can start from long-term planning, one year, four years, ten years, twenty five years, and so on. Then we can look for details to month, week, or day.
“I do short and long term planning. First I specify what I want to be for now, it must be clear and measurable. I dream of being a big, great, and having an impact on others. Since I am a medical student, my knowledge can be applied in the community. However, I want more. I decided to aspire to be a specialist in internal medicine as well as a career in the bureaucracy of controlling non-communicable diseases (for example as minister of health) Then for the short term I divide monthly, per week, and per day … I wrote my schedule in Google Calendar, ” explained Reza .
Recognize Way of Learning
In lectures, explained Reza, if students do not recognize suitable learning methods, then learning will be very boring and the potential of self will not be optimized.
“In medicine, honestly, the learning must be totally changed from pulling an all-nighter to studying regularly, from memorization to understanding, strategies to working on questions and so on. I need almost a year to adjust, starting from how to learn, and regulate my schedule, “he explained.
Read Regularly Non-Fiction Books
According to Reza, reading as many non-fiction books as possible can be useful to improve insights outside the majors taken during the lecture period. As an alternative, for students who don’t like books, Reza suggested to watch some time to watch productive videos on YouTube.
Create Positive Environment
Reza believes that in this world there are two types of friends, toxic friends and productive friends. Toxic friends are those who have very different characters from us, and always point to things that are not good. For that, stay away from toxic friends and approach productive friends.
“I try to join groups that are good and productive. And establish communication with them as often as possible. For example: Community, scholarship development, religious dormitories, mentoring, and others, “explained Reza.
In addition, for students who want to become mawapres like himself, Reza advised to prepare early. Start participating in many competitions and organizations, and work on our academic performance or GPA.
“The most important thing is istiqomah(consistency). In this case, perseverance is desired, “concluded Reza.
Author: Galuh Mega Kurnia
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
