Abd Gafur, SH, LLM. or more familiarly called Gaga is one of the Alumni of Faculty of Law (FH) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) class of 2009. Gaga was Komting FH at that time. Now he serves as Head of Budget Implementation Development Section at the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Treasury of the Ministry of Finance, Bali Province. Her speech at her graduation from Boston University in 2018, was in the public spotlight, because it was uploaded by the Minister of Finance, to famous lawyers.

Still Achieving, Despite Studying While Working

The man who was born in Makassar, July 29, 1986 successfully graduated from UNAIR with the title of Best Graduate of Universitas Airlangga in 2013. Before becoming a student of UNAIR, Gaga had served as a staff of the Ministry of Finance. He received a scholarship from the Ministry of Finance, so he could continue his studies at UNAIR.

Gaga had the opportunity to represent UNAIR as one of the delegation team members of the National Legal Drafting Competition of Corruption Law 2013 held by Diponegoro University in collaboration with KPK. In the event, Gaga and her team won 3rd National Champion. She admitted that she was very happy to be able to represent and bring the name of UNAIR in front of other renowned universities. During her time as a delegate, Gaga met many FH students from other universities. It made her view - more - open that, building - networking is very important to do.

She shared an interesting experience she had during the competition. In the evening, on the same day as her competition at Diponegoro University, Gaga was also invited to attend an event organized by the Ministry of Finance in Solo.

The event - attended by all Ministry of Finance scholarship awardees from campuses in Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. That night Gaga received news that she had received one of the awards as the awardee with the highest GPA. However, her activities at Diponegoro University only ended around six in the evening.

"After it was announced that we got third place, I immediately said goodbye to my fellow delegates. I am not from Java and had never been to Solo before. I was escorted by one of my friends from Undip to find a bus to Solo. Along the way I was very anxious because several times the organizers called me asking where I was. In the end, I arrived in Solo when the awarding night was already over, so I could not receive the award ceremonially," he said.

Get FETA, Continue Study to Boston

After graduating from UNAIR and continuing her career at the Ministry of Finance, Gaga received another scholarship, the Financial Education and Training Agency (FETA) Scholarship in 2016. She pursued her master's degree in Uncle Sam's country, Boston University to be precise. Gaga majored in Banking and Financial Law. The major is considered relevant to her current work at the Ministry of Finance, where one of her duties is to set regulations and policies in the financial sector.

The Great Challenge of Studying in a Foreign Country

The advanced legal system in the United States compared to Indonesia makes the legal profession highly valued financially. This makes FH one of the most prestigious majors and is known to have smart students. During her two-year master's program at Boston University, Gaga experienced intense competition.

"In class, everyone has to be able to debate, express opinions, rhetoric, and more. Plus I had to do it all in English, which is not my native language.

It was even more difficult, because I had to argue and rhetoric against American students who were native speakers or students from other countries whose mother tongue or second language was English. However, I am grateful to be able to overcome it all, and still be able to actively express opinions in class," she said.

The course load is quite high at FH Boston University, making Gaga have to read hundreds of pages - subject matter before entering class. Gaga usually studies the material after dinner. Sometimes, she spends up to three in the morning just to read the next day's lecture material. Not to mention, if she has an assignment to write a paper to be presented in class. He says that high commitment and effort are needed to study at a law school in the United States.

In addition, the monthly living allowance she receives as a student is quite mediocre. It was only enough to pay for housing. Meanwhile, her VISA did not allow her to take a job. "Working illegally (for example at McD) is full of risks especially in the Donald Trump regime at that time. The only way is to save on housing costs. In the US, we looked for a partner to be a roommate so we could jointly pay the rent. But now when I look back and remember my time in the US, it was all worth it as a life experience," she explained.

However, Gaga felt that her struggles while in the United States were not in vain. Meeting - and interacting with people from different countries made her way of looking at the world more open. In addition, studying abroad has increased her capacity in financial management, which is very helpful in improving her career. Gaga's experience in Boston has boosted her confidence to interact and mingle in international forums.

Started as a staff of the Ministry of Finance, now serving as Echelon IV

Her career at the Ministry of Finance began at the State Treasury Service Office in Bantaeng, South Sulawesi in 2005. His duties at the Ministry of Finance were mostly to channel the disbursement of the state budget to finance central government expenditures throughout Indonesia. He was reassigned several times around South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi. Her career continued to rise until she was assigned to the Head Office of the Directorate General of Treasury of the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta, in the Directorate General Secretariat work unit.

While at the head office, Gaga has been a team member or PIC (person in charge) in the formulation of various secretarial policies of the Directorate General of Treasury of the Ministry of Finance. Hard work will not betray results applies to Gaga.

The man born in Makassar was promoted to Head of the Budget Implementation Development Section at the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Treasury of the Ministry of Finance in Bali Province since October 2020. He is now tasked with providing guidance and overseeing the implementation of the central government budget for several Ministries / technical institutions in Bali Province.

Source : Jejak Langkah Ksatria Airlangga Edisi VI