18 Oktober 2023

Raissa Almira on The Importance of Sharing ‘Failures’, Not Just Success Story

Ever since she was named a recipient of the Australia Awards Scholarships in 2021, Raissa Almira made it her focus to share the journey toward and during the study for her nearly 20,000 social media followers. She made a point of not only sharing good news, happy circumstances, and success stories but also the series of rejections before finally landing a scholarship.

After obtaining a Bachelors in Social Development and Welfare from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, in 2019, Raissa spent two years applying for scholarships to study overseas. It was a period filled with a series of rejections.

"I applied for over a dozen scholarship schemes. I received email after email of rejection or no response at all. But I worked hard for it. After work, I took up scholarship mentoring and did many revisions for my essays and applications. It wasn't easy, not to mention costly, because you have to pay for the course, the test, and the university application," said Raissa, 25.

"Why am I so eager to get a scholarship? Well, because if I want something, I work to get it. Besides, if I postpone it longer, I'm afraid that work will get in the way of my plan to pursue higher education," she added.

Raissa is now studying a Masters of Marketing Communication at the University of Melbourne, which is in line with her planned career path after working as a marketing communication staff at a media company. She has diligently uploaded tips and insights on how to get scholarships on her Instagram and YouTube accounts in hopes of helping others with the same dream.

"I like to share, and I don't keep things to myself. And I think people can relate to me more because I didn't get the scholarship in my first attempt," said Raissa.

Multitalented and Multitasking

Raissa is naturally an active and social person who likes participating in various activities and projects. She has published three poetry books, adorned with her own illustrations: “Keep Going: A Collection of Self-Love Poems”, “A Thousand Words for You”, and “Something to Remember Me By”.

Now living in Melbourne, Raissa has dived into a number of projects beyond her studies. She is working at a travel agency as a digital marketing coordinator, taking up summer school to ease up the load in the next semester, and is active in Australia Awards Scholarship Club.

"Initially, I did want to focus on school. But I've been exposed to many new activities and experiences, and I love it. I'm trying to embrace everything," she said.

She is grateful that Australia Awards allows scholarship recipients to work, giving her the opportunity to work in a multicultural setting and learn practical knowledge beyond academic theory. The same multicultural networks at university and student organisations have made her a more open-minded person, she said.

 "It seems that people in other countries have preconceived notions about Muslims, so I like the opportunity to introduce my religion and culture to them. They are very open about themselves as well. I love having genuine networking like this," Raissa said.

The only cultural shock she finds is the amount of reading and pre-recorded materials that she has to do. But she makes do by reading after the dawn prayer.

"I love the atmosphere in the class, it's very active, and we do a lot of discussion and sharing. I learn so much," she said.

The interaction with her followers on social media made her realise that scholarship information has not yet reached a wider population, particularly in the regions.

"Despite the proliferation of social media and internet access, many are unaware of the information. Not to mention that getting the required language test is expensive…. I hope the scholarship schemes can continue to be more inclusive in the future." she said.

Raisa hopes to be able to create an impact on society by pursuing a career in the communication field to democratise access to information.

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