In 2017 I was awarded the Sir Thomas Sutherland HSBC Scholarship to attend the University of Aberdeen. I travelled from Indonesia to Scotland to start my studies in Chemical Engineering in the summer. I had never lived abroad before studying in Aberdeen. Being surrounded by supportive community including my flatmates, classmates, and the Indonesian community in Aberdeen helped me to settle in.
The past four years have come with many great opportunities and some challenges, in particular this year was difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2020, I was accepted into the Saltire Scholar Programme, an internship program sponsored by Entrepreneurial Scotland. I was initially selected as an Investment Operation Analyst Intern for the Wealth Operations division of Barclays Global Service Centre in Chennai, India. The internship was scheduled to take place in June-August 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the internship was cancelled.
I was later successful in the Saltire Scholar Programme when I was selected as an International Development Intern at the Natural Fruit and Beverage Company (NFBC), a Scottish company which is the largest third-party manufacturer of food and drink products in pouches in the UK. The role was extremely interesting and allowed me to put what I learned at university into practice.
I have also got involved in various extracurricular activities during my study. In the second year, I became interested in martial arts and photography. That is why I joined Aberdeen University Mixed Martial Arts club in the first semester and travelled around the UK during the summer break. In the third year, I joined Aberdeen University Trading and Investment Club as an analyst where I learned how to do investment evaluation.
The scholarship from HSBC has allowed me four amazing years studying in Aberdeen and I’m proud to say that next week I will graduate with a First Class Honours degree.
