Not long ago, a #LPDPren shared their story on Twitter/X about an online taxi driver whose son was pursuing higher studies in the United States. The father revealed that his son was striving to fulfill his dream of bringing the family to America on his graduation day.
The focus was on Ilham Nugraha, a graduate of SBM ITB, who is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Public Policy. Notably, he succeeded in gaining admission to one of the Ivy League universities, Cornell University, with an LPDP scholarship.
"My father has always been a driver. He used to work for a hotel, and even after retirement, due to his strength and ongoing needs, he resumed working as an online taxi driver."
Born and raised in economically modest circumstances didn't deter him. Thanks to the Bidikmisi Scholarship program, he managed to attend SBM ITB. Since his undergraduate studies, the ambition for further education existed. Aware of the costs involved in university application fees and English language certificates, he started saving from his scholarship allowance and worked as a teaching assistant.
He also devoted more time to self-study English, "I found resources wherever I could, as long as they were free. There are plenty of them on the internet. Because if I were to take a course, it would incur additional costs. It took at least three years until the accumulated savings were enough for the IELTS test and application fees for several universities I aimed for," he expressed.
Growing up in Gedebage, Bandung, surrounded by social realities encompassing issues like poverty, education, environmental cleanliness, and health, motivated him to seek solutions. This inclination led him to pursue further studies in Public Policy.
Presently, Ilham is part of the Energy Transition Working Group Presidency G20, preparing all the necessary materials related to the climate crisis to be discussed at this year's G20 world leaders' meeting in Indonesia. He also allocates time to work as a research assistant at his university, aiming to fulfill his desire to bring his family to the US upon his graduation.
"Instead of blaming circumstances, the limitations I faced made me realize I needed to put in more effort and have a stronger fighting spirit than others," he concluded.