Almost Failing to Study, Waode is Now a Lecturer and Head of the UM Surabaya Language Center

Everyone has their own story of failure and success, such as the inspiring story of Waode Hamsia, a Lecturer at the Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya (UM Surabaya). Apparently behind his success today to become an academic, Waode had ups and downs in starting a career. Waode admits that he comes from a simple family, his father is a sailor and his mother is an ordinary housewife.

Waode admitted that as a child he lived in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, with his father of Butonese descent and his mother of Javanese descent. Not long after, when he entered Kindergarten (TK) school, his family decided to get an education in Java. Since then he migrated to Surabaya with his mother and siblings. Waode admitted that although his parents were just sailors and ordinary housewives, his parents had been very aware of the importance of education since he was a child.

“I still remember when we were little, we all had to eat simple meals so that the money could be saved to pay for school needs,” recalled Waode Sunday (23/7/23)

Waode completed elementary to high school at a school in Surabaya. Because he is a smart kid and always wins the class, he has the desire to continue his education up to university. However, his desire to continue school to a bachelor's degree was not as easy as turning his hand. According to his confession, his parents could not afford it if they had to go to college. He admitted that he almost buried his dream of continuing to go to school.

Worked in Garment to become Admin

When he graduated from high school, Waode had to save money so he could go to college. His business started when he worked in a garment with his first salary of one hundred thousand. Because he felt the activity was too busy, he submitted dozens of applications. After the twentieth application he just got a call.

"I still remember when I submitted an application for taking one public transportation to another, finally after the twentieth application I got a call and worked as a telephone operator, but this only lasted seven months because the working hours were too full time," he said.

After that, Waode got married and had children. His dream was to continue studying in college. After having children, Waode continued to work by giving private lessons from one house to another. After the money was collected, he enrolled in English at UM Surabaya, majoring in English.

His interest in the English department has been formed since childhood. Because he is a smart kid, Waode gets an Academic Improvement Achievement (PPA) scholarship for 4 semesters or 2 years. Even so, he does not relax, he continues to work and gives private lessons every day. When he graduated from UM Surabaya, Waode succeeded in becoming the best graduate with a cum laude GPA. After graduating Waode became a teacher at SD Muhammadiyah 13 and SD Muhammadiyah 9 Kenjeran.

It didn't stop there, Waode continued his studies at the Postgraduate level at Surabaya State University (Unesa) and graduated in 2013. After graduating from college, Waode became a lecturer at UM Surabaya, and became a full-time lecturer in the same year.

Then in 2017 he had the opportunity to get an offer to study Doctorate at Surabaya State University (Unesa) thanks to a collaborative scholarship. In the midst of her busy life as a wife and a mother with two children, Waode managed to finish her studies on time. In his doctoral study, Waode majored in Educational Technology.

Now that he is a lecturer, his writings and ideas are easy to find in the national media. Several scientific papers have been published. Many studies have been conducted and funded by the Government.

At the end of his statement, when asked about the key to success, Waode said that success belongs to those who work hard and don't give up.

“If we have a desire, the key is to focus, balance it with equal effort and prayer. If you fail, try again, spend your failure quota until you succeed," he concluded.