The figure of Lukman Hakim, a lecturer at UM Surabaya who used to be a cleaning service until he became a construction worker

No one thought that the life of Lukman Hakim, a lecturer and head of the UM Surabaya Information Technology Center (PTI), could change drastically. The wheel of fate turns for this man from Trenggalek, East Java. Behind his current success story, apparently Lukman is a child who was raised in an orphanage for 6 years.

According to his statement, when he was small he was raised by his grandmother because his mother was an Indonesian Migrant Worker (TKI) who moved from place to place in a neighboring country, besides that when he was small his father was also sickly.

“From childhood to elementary school, I lived with Grandma. After graduating from elementary school, I moved to the Muhammadiyah Orphanage in Kediri for 6 years. It was in the orphanage that I was forged and I could go to school, learn the Koran for free," said Lukman Friday (6/1/23)

Lukman said that he was not an intelligent child in class, even when he was still in elementary school he only ranked 29th, even though Lukman was a child who liked challenges and new things at that time.

When he lived in an orphanage, his father died and this made him lose a figure in the family. Loss, limitations and difficulties made him stronger and forced him to study more diligently so he wouldn't be left behind.

"Thankfully at that time, after going through many incidents I was more focused on studying from junior high school to vocational school. I entered the top 3 in my class and from then on I dared to dream big," Lukman recalls.

While living at the Orphanage, he not only went to school and recited the Koran, he was also given the skills to make paving for sale. Not only that, because he needed additional money to buy snacks like other children in general, he also worked as a radio announcer who was paid 100 thousand per month in the orphanage area until he graduated from Vocational High School.

Becoming a Cleaning Service to Building Workers when a Student.

When he graduated from SMK he returned to Trenggalek and lived with his grandmother. He has a desire to go to college but that is only wishful thinking due to the cost factor. However, after 2 months at home, luck was on his side because he received an offer to study at the Muhammadiyah Regional Leadership in East Java.

“At that time the name of the scholarship was FORPAMA or abbreviated as the Muhammadiyah Aisyiyah Orphanage Forum. Without thinking twice, I immediately took the offer,” said Lukman.

Thanks to the scholarship, Lukman was able to study for free at the University of Muhammadiyah Surabaya (UM Surabaya) majoring in Electrical Engineering. In Surabaya he lived in a dormitory while selling crackers.

Apparently selling crackers was not enough for him, so he had to rack his brains to meet food expenses and other things.

"Finally at that time I opened a motorbike washing business, but because there were frequent evictions beside the road, the business did not last long," he recalled.

It didn't stop there, Lukman finally got a job offer from a friend to become a cleaning service at Delta Plaza Surabaya from 7 am to 4 pm and that night he continued to study at college.

Apparently the job only lasted a few months, because he felt it didn't match the salary he finally decided to leave.

"Actually at that time the salary was enough to eat, but because it was semester 6 I needed a laptop to work on my thesis, so I had to find a job where I could save my salary," said Lukman.

Finally after looking around he found a job working as a construction worker with a weekly salary of 350,000. Fifty thousand he used for snacks and three hundred thousand he saved. After several months as a coolie he was able to buy a used laptop for 1,800,000.

After finishing his thesis and graduating from UM Surabaya, his life was not immediately easy, he remained in Surabaya and tried to find work.

"At that time, after graduating, I worked in a shop in front of the campus selling noodles. Thank God, at that time, a good person offered me a job as a designer on campus," he added.

Without thinking twice, he took the offer, immediately made a job application and was accepted as an employee.

Become the Youngest Lecturer and Head of Bureau at UM Surabaya

When his economy began to improve as an employee at the campus, he continued his postgraduate studies at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) majoring in Smart Multimedia Networks (JCM). Thanks to his ideas and ideas he became a lecturer at a very young age.

Now the father of one child, when he was 30 years old, was lined up as Head of the Information Technology Center Bureau (PTI) UM Surabaya. His writings and ideas are easy to find in the national media.

At the end of his statement he advised to always take chances, as long as they are opportunities for good.

“As long as it's not embarrassing and stays on the path of goodness, take chances. Because that will be the road to success, “concluded Lukman.