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Aiming high while in high school
For children today, adult life begins in high school
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or children today, adult life begins in high school.
While many teenagers choose to only focus on studying and being happy, some youngsters have a vision and are joining afterschool activities to chase their dreams.
Alexander Rivaldy, an 11th grader at Gonzaga High School in South Jakarta, aspires to become a computer programmer.
Realizing the complexity of the science, Alex, decided to join the computer club at his school when he was a first-year student, as part of his effort to reach his dream.
“I started to play around with computers during my junior high school years, but it was all light and easy, and mostly about games. My passion grew stronger when I saw my friend make a computer game.
“Entering Gonzaga and knowing that it has a computer club, I signed up right away. It’s real action,” Alex told The Jakarta Post recently.
For people under 17 like him, knowing basic programming languages such as Visual Basic and Delphi is a plus. And that is exactly what Alex is learning at his school’s club.
“The club started with learning Visual Basic and stepped up to Delphi. Later, in the 12th grade, we will get C++,” said Alex, adding that the computer club is separated into programming and graphic design sections. The latter section focuses on digital drawing, animation and website designing.
In a slightly different story, a 12th grader at Gonzaga, Ryan Gautama, said that he decided to get serious about becoming a movie director after he was asked by one of his seniors to be an assistant director on a short movie for the school’s cinematography club.
“It wasn’t intentional at all. I joined the club in the 11th grade. If it wasn’t for one of my seniors, who is one of my inspirations in movie making, I probably would not be interested in this field,” the 16-year-old told the Post.
After producing his first piece, Ryan said that he felt that cinematography gave him fun, adventurous and creative experiences.
“It’s so fun that I don’t feel bored at all. I think I’m going to put a serious effort in this field by enrolling as a cinematography major at university,” Ryan said, adding that the field was a new thing for his family.
Following his involvement in the club, Ryan has produced or directed five short movies.
“Our movies have won three runner-up awards in school competitions in Jakarta and Bekasi [West Java]. The first was a movie about daily life in Jakarta. The second was about a psychological disorder while the latest one is a movie about Betawi culture,” he said.
Knowing that he had interest in psychology, Ryan said that he felt more comfortable in the director’s seat. “It’s challenging directing people. First, I have to explain what the story is all about to my actors, then what kind of impression I want my movie to have, and then I have to explain this in detail.”
Aiming to study cinematography in the US or Canada, Ryan said he also had an interest in studying psychology.
“The US is definitely a perfect place to study filmmaking, despite the expensive cost. I like Christopher Nolan’s work so much. His movies are so memorable and make people keep on thinking about the film for some hours, even after it ends,” he added.
Marsha Widia Rahma, a 12th grader at SMA 8 Jakarta state high school, said that despite her official goal to become an environmental engineer, she also had a passion for diplomatic work.
That is was why she decided to be an active student by being president of a student organization and joining a traditional dance club at her school.
“Those activities actually come together naturally. It started when I joined the traditional dance club. At first I didn’t want to be the president, but I don’t know, it just brought me here now,” said the 16-year-old.
Marsha’s “ambassadorial” work seemed to touch real life when 12 dancers from her club flew to Gangneung, South Korea, in August. She performed Jakarta’s nandak ganjeng dance, the giring-giring dance from West Nusa Tenggara as well as the saman from Aceh.
“That was my first ever experience going and dancing overseas. It was so fun, as most members of the audience asked us to teach them a bit,” she said.
— JP/Niken Prathivi
Tips and tricks
Young professionals share their recipes for success
Yohanes Auri
Young entrepreneur Yohanes Auri started and ran his graphic design business from his 4x4-meter room at his parents’ house in 2005, while he was still pursuing a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta. Now, Auri as he is more commonly known, has moved his business Flux Design to his own house in West Jakarta. Auri’s company has earned more than Rp 1 billion (US$104.112) in total revenue in 2011.
• Find your passion. Doing work you are passionate about won’t feel like a burden at all.
• If you have a dream, stick to it. Never let it go — because some people will try to bring you down.
• Stop procrastinating. Start with everything that you have got and make the best out of it.
• Never underestimate yourself, be confident. I never lowered my expectations just because I started my business in my room at my parents’ house.
Ganjar Wiriaatmadja
Coming from a humble family in Bandung, West Java, 24-year-old Ganjar Wiriaatmadja has been training himself to be a trader. Building his own career since high school, Ganjar used to sell various items, from music cassettes to steamed-dumpling dishes.
Using Rp 2 million of his own savings, Ganjar began his serious business in selling T-shirts in 2005. Now, Ganjar, along with three of his business partners, has a factory that produces clothing goods from T-shirts to suits for state offices that earns Rp 800 million in revenue.
• Don’t be afraid to making choices in business.
• Don’t worry about start-up funding for your business. Start from what you like, put your creativity into it and earn value from it.
• Follow your passion, dig deep and create things from the heart.
• Love what you do.
Boby Limijaya
Although he took keyboard lessons since the tender age of 6, Boby Limijaya found his passion for classical piano at the age of 18, when most people in music thought that it was too late to learn.
After graduating with a degree in classical piano from Pelita Harapan University in Karawaci, Tangerang, and a degree in jazz composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston, US, the 31-year-old is now preparing for a professional music career in Indonesia. Having won the 2009 Herb Pomeroy Award for his outstanding work in jazz composition, Boby has been performing at various top jazz events in Indonesia.
Boby thinks that these basic principals can encourage young potential musicians to pursue their own careers:
• Work hard.
• Find great teachers and learn from them.
• Never listen to the people who say bad things about you.
