In the learning process, theory and practice go hand in hand. Practicing theory through projects is not only useful as an opportunity to explore the knowledge deeply, but also as a portfolio for applying for jobs and universities scholarships abroad. This was revealed by Pheseline Felim, an alumna of Communications President University batch 2013 who is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Strategic Communications Management at Monash University, Australia. Monash University is ranked in the top one percent of world universities.
Pheseline won the Australia Award Scholarships (AAS), a prestigious scholarship from the Australian Government. The AAS program in Indonesia has been supported by the Australian government for more than 60 years. Many AAS graduates get leadership positions and initiate change in developing Indonesia.
Failed in the first try of AAS application did not make Pheseline give up. She remained calm and came back with better preparation in April 2019.
“For me, becoming Australia Awards Awardee is unexpected because I thought I would only get the “unfortunately” email after going through the second selection step. Surprisingly, one of my dreams, obtaining a scholarship comes true,” Pheseline said as she described the process of achieving AAS after trying to apply for the second time.
She chose Australia to continue her studies because she believed that it was the best country to learn Communications. She said, “I know that Australia is a good choice to pursue my graduate degree. Many lecturers at President University, especially in Communication Studies as well as my colleagues, were graduated from Australia. They have proven skills and careers in the industry.”
Pheseline who previously worked at the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) – the leading integrated, resource-based industrial groups in the Asia Pacific, with businesses in paper, palm oil, construction, and energy- as Corporate Communications and PT Indofoof CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk as Brand Marketing revealed that learning experience with hands-on work practices in President University has helped her in the applying process for job and graduate scholarships.
“While studying at President University, I didn’t learn about theory only. As the learning process, I had a chance to conduct PR events or campaigns that could be a good portfolio to apply for jobs and AAS scholarships,” she said.
Closing the story of her career and education journey, Pheseline shared her life principle, “persistence never betrays”. “To achieve a good result is not instant. Many processes must be gone through and it is very natural to fail. Failure is a process of learning and improving. It is important to continue to complete the process effectively, efficiently and focus on the goal. The point is knowing what you want to achieve and don’t give up,” she concluded.
Pheseline hopes that her persistence can inspire many people not to give up and continue to actively add their practical learning process as the portfolio while studying in the university to make it easier to find a job and apply for scholarships.