A Presidential Narrative.

related to SBE UISC. 

It is kind of weird to see the recruitment of SBE Deputy and staff this recent days on @sbeuisc as i never remembered to discuss about that with my board member. Then i remember that it is not up to me anymore. My time as the president of SBE UISC is up. And for what it worth, it was worthwile.

In all honesty it was never my plan to become the president of SBE UISC. I had this certain event that i wanted to organize since i learnt how to organize. Kind of you don’t say statement since SBE UISC was not even existed until my sophomore year. How can you plan for something that not yet existed? But despite the establishment of SBE, my response was lukewarm. Sure SBE, a core-competency-based community was a welcoming presence in oil&gas-heavy specialization of Chemical engineering Department something that i never gave a sniff about. It gave an access of knowledge and information that would be beneficial. But never in my faintest dream i would be involved this much.

I was approached by Ka Pijar, a senior i knew only by the name back then, a senior that grew into one of the people i respect the most in school, to become the vice-president for the newly-assembled board. I wasn’t sure why of all people it was me that asked to take the responsibility as great as vice-president. Guess the lack of human resources which had no shame to hold such position with the exception of myself :p After explained and inquired that my one big goal was still that particular comittee and i would be understood to allocate some of my time to prepare for it in the middle of the tenure, which was given by ka Pijar, i was agree to be the vice-president.

And so it went. The small team of SBE Board of Director 2012, team that consisted of 10 people: Ka pijar, myself, bagas, ka ipi, ka asa, dinda, bundo, asep, felita, and nissa. We were the first board who had full tenure of SBE UISC stewardship. We had no idea which way to go. Any obstacle, any hardship, in all of our inexperience we figured it out with the guidance of the SBE founders. Being a member of that small team, in a position which had no definite job description allowed me to oversaw things that gave me perspectives. The perspective of each division obstacles, of member-community relationship, of legal view and leverage we had as community, of the goal and vision of this community, of weakness and uncertainty as a new organization. And in my responsibility as the vice-president i could, i needed to be able to make decision whenever the more senior board member unavailable due to their more demanding academical obligation. But once again thats more because my undefined job description so i had more free time than other board members :p.

Then the unexpected, SBE grew on me.

I still wanted to take part of that comittee. The things that i wanted since my first year. but my ego took over. I felt needed there. I felt that after those things. what i saw, what i experienced, i was the most well-equipped person to take SBE over. My whole tenure was based on my arrogance. Between the thing and another, it was a sophie’s choice.

But still, with the lowly personality i had. The needs of being significance. it took just a little bit convincing from ka Pijar for me to ditch that things that i wanted since my freshman year. I decided that i would be the President Candidates for SBE UISC. I defined my vision of bigger,better, and more established SBE based on what i was seeing the whole year. I was then formulate my promises.

Since SBE UISC was a newly found organization, i thought the main concern was how to establish itself for the future. How SBE UISC would have identity and found its niche in the vast choice of Chemical engineering department student. So with the 4 pillars of service, closeness, link-building, and self-sustainability we would define the future of SBE UISC. There. It was my vision. To define Culture.

While the motive might be more noble than it was, i never regretted the decision. One can only surprised that such a motivation could turned into a wonderful experience. I started to form my own team, Recruiting people. The way ka Pijar recruited me. Upin one person that i could trust with the most insurmountable of task and turned out as my campaign manager ( yea i had a campaign manager eventhough i was the sole candidate. It was not pointless trust me). Asep, the first person popped up into mind to ask to join even though he was annoyed the hell out of me. He still is. They agreed to join me as mates. Felita, Cabe, Dinda, They bought my promise of big things.

They helped me even though that could be nothing in it. I still remember the afternoon which Upin and Nadia, a future board member, stayed late in SATURDAY to finish up my campaign poster and designed also crafted by hands my campaign attributes. The poster turned out into one of the most prized artifact that sitting pretty in my room. The annoying asep’s cryptic text messages that unexpectedly designed the campaign flyer. Presentation Design for my oral campaign designed by Cabe. The rest of the future board member. The text messages they randomly sent to publicized the sole candidates. Their presence in the election.

that legendary awesome poster

Then on that day ,December 4th. I was elected on K204 as the President of SBE UISC 2013.

And so it went. The plan was put in motion. We had meeting. Our first meeting was an absurd trip to Taman Suropati. A dysfunctional, more laughter than substance, lost in the way (literaly), meeting that characterized the rest of SBE UISC 2013 meeting. We chose our deputies. We perfected our teams.  We had Annual Board Meeting in Upin’s Neighborhood (Of all Places!) that went on from dusk until dawn. It was all fun and laughter. Then i messed up.

after that annual board meeting

When you assumed a public trust, you become public properties. But back then i couldn’t put SBE on the first priority. I couldn’t give SBE the time it deserved. The life in that semester was very surprising. Many Interests involved. School, friends, families, all that stuff. It affect my decision. Based on my previous experience, when you involved in a student activities it was voluntary. You don’t get paid for the job. There isn’t anything to show for your commitment. I know that full well so i try to do things personally. It worked for the previous community involvment i worked at.  It should worked now. But it didn’t. Things got too personal much that i couldn’t demand anything. And there were other things. My motivation for things was sunk so low that i almost, almost decided to quit. I stated my intention to a board member that most likely to succeded if i quit. Patiently, understandingly, she talked me out of it. And thankfully, i dragged my feet through the finish line.

While i couldn’t think straight, fortunately those people i mentioned before could. And they, with their own discretion did what they need to. In those times, even though i couldn’t perform my responsibilities optimally,  every time we had a meeting it always felt that the rest of our tenure would be doable. The meeting, whatever the agenda, whenever, wherever, was always , in Nadia’s terms crazy-abstract-and fun, was the silver lining. It was them that carried me to the end of the tenure when i was the leader. So it was an honest statement when i said that maybe SBE UISC would be better if it wasn’t me at the helm.

The 2010 batch-Board members 

But at the end of the tenure, which came very late (and probably makes me the longest serving organization leader in Engineering faculty ever) and thanks to the fellow board members, i think SBE UISC has grown the past year. It wasn’t as big as i promised  but it still going to a better place. I think we were more well-known than the year before. I think that our programs, our way of doing things is good enough. In my personal point of view, when we began of our journey, we just had twitter account @sbeuisc that had so much but not yet lived up to it. We knew our members but members not yet know us. We were the pioneer of such community but we weren’t spread it enough. But throughout a year, our diligent media team had developed strong image. Our regular twitter program #BioInfo and #Bioquiz is passed through and  used in this year tenure. We have been publicized our own bulletin and wall magazine. Our guest lectures could gather more than 50 in attendance. Members gathered together. Of course, we had still not initiate a movement with other students from others university. We had not have a main sponsor yet for our own sustainability. There were many programs that we planned but failed to materialize.  but one can do so much in a year. (Boo! More alibis). And more importance i thought that we were more known. And that thanks to all of the board members who spread the words of SBE through their works. And of course, we have now a new president which offers so much great things and seeing through now their plan put in motion, i can only think optimisticly of SBE UISC future. We have somehow define a culture.

Of course it is a mere opinion, those are not backed up with facts. With the exception of the attendance of lectures which i hold the guest list. Maybe it is all a biased opinion. And you might independently think so.

We had done what we could had done. All of those sentimental gibberish i wrote was not to blame something or somekind. It was not a defensive act for my good name. Sure it could be better. And i am the only one to blame for those shortage in achievement. And for that i am truly sorry.  I apologize not to be able to deliver my promise in full. It is not that i didn’t care. I did. But still, you got to hands our board member credits. To be able to find a way without a clear direction and still perform admirably. They are some of better people.

And now that SBE UISC is no longer mine to decide, i am looking with excitement of what next for this community. Teguh, our next president, on his road to power consultated some of his plan for me. And based on what i saw, all of them were delightful plan. If all of them materialize, SBE UISC will grow multiple times better. And it is already on the way to materialize. He is a great man. And if he backed with great team like mine, greater things are waiting. And i can only be proud.

The point of this whole thing is, suddenly i missed being the President. I am still wanting to contribute, partly because seeing how eventful this year will be for SBE. But now all i can contribute is sitting nicely and let them, the younglings, create. And of course comment if asked. They will see success. They will be there. The better place.

So this is it. I can't thank all of those name i drop before enough. They give so much in these two years. Since the beginning of my involvment until this day. I apologize if i can't pay them with a greater SBE in my time as president. But i am sure that things only get better know. So this is an apology, an eulogy, thank you, good bye, good luck greetings, felt-good story crammed into one. This is my last act as a president. And like all of my presidency characterize, this is a crazy-abstract things. i don’t know if it is fun for you. But sure it is for me.

Khairu Nuzula

The last order