Lufti is a third-year undergraduate student from the International Undergraduate Program, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada. At the moment, he is attending the exchange program at the University of Groningen for the spring semester of 2022. He said that living in Groningen is a choice that he will never regret and he found many reasons for this. Amongst them is that the environment there is very student-friendly and the facilities are easily accessible for students to use, such as the sports centers and libraries. In addition to that, the transportation around the city is very bicycle-friendly, which can make traversing the city feel like a grand adventure. Overall, he said that the student-friendly city of Groningen is a perfect choice for him, especially since his needs as an exchange student have been fulfilled there.
Nadya Andhita, a student from batch 2017, has a particular fondness towards the art of photography. She has known of photography since she was little, but started taking it more seriously as she entered an extracurricular activity during high school. There, Nadya learned of the theoretical bases and techniques of professional photography. Her skills became better as she practiced, and she proved it by placing second in a Canon Photo Marathon event. She recalled, “the theme of the photo was ‘Appreciating Each Other’, and I submitted a photo of two siblings, with the older one feeding her younger sister.”
Zachranti Abianca “Abin” Hafsari is a student of IUP batch 2017. Ever since she was a child, she has a particular fondness towards the world of visual arts. She told us that it all started when she was a child, “around the age of kindergarten,” she recalled. During that time, her mother used to have a painting teacher come over to hone her artistry. Being a small child, Abin tried to imitate her, to which her mother noticed and had a mini easel placed beside hers. “I vividly remember the moment when I made my first painting. I was painting alongside my mom, who painted a scenery. I, on the other hand, painted a blue and pink house,” she told us. Her interest was brought to school at that time, making arts and crafts as her favorite subject.
This is Matheus Raoul Supriyadi, he is a 2017 student of IUP Psychology who has a particular interest in the classical Yogyakartan dance. He did not realize his fascination until he moved from West Java to Yogyakarta. It all started when Raoul first came to Jogja in 2014 and went for a small trip to the Kraton (Royal Palace), where he saw a male dance performance taken from the epic of Ramayana. “As I saw the dance, strangely my mind did not wander at all. My only thought was that the dance was very masculine and elegant at the same time,” he told us. From there, he was finally able to start learning how to dance in 2017 considering the lack of free time he had in high school. “I prefer to dance the refined male characters as opposed to the coarser ones. My breath can’t catch up with the energetic movements hehehe,” he joked as he explained more about his specialty.