“Nothing is impossible to work on your dream”

March 17, 2023

A Story of Muhammad Suhri Ainur Rifky, Bangkit 2022 Graduate from Information System, UPN “Veteran” Jawa Timur

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”
(Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa)

Everyone has their measurement of what's possible and not—for most of us, taking higher education after high school seems to fall into the first. Yet, it didn't apply to Muhammad Suhri Ainur Rifky (22), who comes from a simple family.

The financial condition of Suhri's family made it so hard for him to go to college after high school. Nevertheless, in Suhri's life, "impossible" is not something he believes in. In his mind, everything is possible as long as he tries hard enough to achieve it. Imitating his mother's exceptional spirit, Suhri is convinced that he can reach anything despite hardships in his life.

Here is Suhri's story of pursuing his dream no matter what.

Born to an Incredible Mother

Suhri is the second of three children born to an incredible single mother who lives in Bangkalan, Madura, East Jawa. When Suhri's father passed away 16 years ago, Suhri's mother became the family's sole breadwinner.

“My mother works as a cashier in a restaurant in our hometown and earns an uncertain sum. Sometimes, she takes Rp 1,5 million home per month. And sometimes, she only makes Rp 1 million a month.”

For some people, that amount of money seems impossible to give a family of four a life. However, Suhri's mother proved it wrong. She could raise her children by herself and send them to college. This greatly inspires Suhri; he wants to have the same spirit and perseverance as his mother.

Therefore, Suhri wanted to give back to his family and substitute for his mother to earn a livelihood one day. Knowing that launching a tech career could give him a promising future, Suhri aspired to be a digital talent to provide for his family when he successfully became a tech expert.

Picking Up His Dream Across the Island

After graduating high school, Suhri picked up his dream across the island. He decided to go to UPN Veteran Jawa Timur to become an Informatics Engineering student. Living more than 66 kilometers away, Suhri had no issue riding his motorcycle for an hour and a half from his home in Bangkalan to his campus in Surabaya.

“I would rather stay home and accompany my mother than double my family’s expenses by renting a room near the campus area. Maybe it seems exhausting for many people, but nothing is impossible for me to work on my dream.”

If Suhri didn't go to UPN "Veteran" Jawa Timur, he might never have known about Bangkit. One of Suhri's seniors is Bangkit 2021 Alum. Knowing that Suhri aspired to be a tech expert, his senior encouraged him to register for this program to be a career-ready talent. After considering his senior's recommendation and thinking about the life-changing experience that Bangkit could give, Suhri was intrigued to sign up for Bangkit.

A Persistent Future Back-End Developer

Since Suhri became a tech student, he has been fond of Back-End Development. Therefore, knowing that Bangkit has Cloud Computing as one of its learning paths, Suhri was excited to undergo the 900 hours of studying in this program.

While going through a learning period in Bangkit, Suhri had an opportunity to practice after, most of the time, only getting theoretical knowledge. Significantly, the Cloud Computing path gave Suhri many insights into Back-End Development so that Suhri could broaden his horizon in this field. As a result, learning in Bangkit boosted his confidence in becoming a future Back-End Developer.

In Bangkit, Suhri was also getting used to tight deadlines because he applied time management skills acquired from Bangkit and became familiar with personal branding. So, when Suhri's persistence led him to graduate from Bangkit successfully, he directly practiced his branding skills on LinkedIn. The skills implementation then helped Suhri get something he had always dreamed of.

Never Limit Yourself to Growth

Implementing personal branding skills on LinkedIn was the first thing that Suhri did after graduating from Bangkit. Then, he applied to some companies for Back-End Developer positions. One of those companies was Campaign.com, a Jakarta-based social campaign enabler startup.

Of all the companies that Suhri applied to, Campaign.com allowed him to take a series of recruitment processes. Suhri's persistence to prove that he's a good tech talent resulted in acceptance by this startup, and he could work remotely. As a Back-End Developer Intern, he is responsible for maintaining the API.

“Learning resources from Bangkit helped me understand the whole tech system used by Campaign.com. I hope that Bangkit 2023 Cohorts can take advantage of all learning resources provided by Bangkit because it does benefit you in solving industrial problems,” Suhri wanted to motivate his juniors in Bangkit.

Last, Suhri emphasized that we should never limit ourselves to growth. Difficulties exist only to test how far we are going to try. Just as Suhri did when two islands separated his dream, he finally decided to cross it over, no matter how far it took, every single day.

“I first doubted my son’s idea of joining Bangkit because I feared he would neglect his lectures. However, seeing him achieving a lot after Bangkit, I’m proud of him and believe Suhri could achieve anything. Good luck with your future, Son!” Suhri’s mother wishes the best for whatever his son dreams of.

More stories about Bangkit Alum and Cohort:

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