Full Transkrip Pidato Nadhira Nuraini Afifa di Wisuda Harvard, Begitu Menginspirasi Muda-Mudi Indonesia

Nadhira Nuraini Afifa’ Commencement Speech at Harvard (Full Transcript)

Berikut ini saya coba bagikan teks (full transcript) dari pidato Mahasiswa Indonesia yang kuliah di Harvard (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) yang saya kutip dari pidato dia di hadapan para wisudawan, yang mana di tayangkan di official youtube-nya per 29 Juni 2022.

Good afternoon, everyone. Greetings to Dean Kim, faculty, staff, and alumni. And to the class of 2020, congratulations. Congratulation to our parents, friends, and loved ones, without whom today would not be special as is it a day we have all earned cherish together. Let me ask you a question, "How many of you when you are a little and you were asked, what do you want to be when you grow up, said public health professional?" Me neither, yet here we are.

Two years have passed since we graduated. And it still feels surreal for me to be on this podium and gather with you all once again in our beloved school. For me Harvard Chan plays a very important role in public health journey. I wil never forget my first day of orientation at this school. I ate my lunch in the bathroom stall with my feet on the toiet seat, so no one would know that I was there. But then I was so afraid of everything above all, the coffee breaks. I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid of saying something wrong. And I was afraid of being seen as different.  Even by just wearing a hijab, I already made my identity clear without even needing to tell anyone what I believe in. And I had seen a lot of news around Islamophobia, and it concerned me.

However, in just my second week at school, my perception began to change. I found a praying room downstairs. Surprisingly, the school provides us with a very convenient praying room, equipped with all things we need for praying. What made it even more special, it was my Jewish friend who showed me the room because he saw me praying under the stairwell. Equality, inclusivity, unity. I can not think of any better place I could learn those concepts but here. Little by little, Harvard Chan and all its people have become my new home 10,000 miles away from my original one. Albeit slowly, I came back to be the confident person, my mom has raised me to be.

My mom is here, by the way. So, mama has always been the one who inspires me. She is the youngest child of 11 siblings, born and raised by a rural farmer in a rural Sumatran Island in Indonesia. Farmers kids didn’t go to school those days. Her sisters and brothers worked very hard to get mama to college. And she didn’t take it for granted. When I was a kid, mama taught me an important lesson of live. Dream high because our only limit is our mind. That is what keeps her going through the tough times. Despite being under privileged, mama managed to raise three children who are completed master’s degrees.

The values that mama taught me keeps echoing all my life. She raised me from a student in small town in Indonesia to graduate from the best public health school in the word. From the beginning of my journey as a public health professional, I promised myself that I would always apply my knowledge and contribute to society. And I encourage you all to promise that we will not stop ourselves from leeping higher and making an in pact to the world through public health. Public health provides us with the opportunity to save the live of millions and improve the health and longevity of generations and generations to come. It is only through public health that we can see the entire countries setting aside their differences and pooling their resources to end the pandemic. And COVID has shown us that no matter how privileged we are or no matter where we come from, we are exposed to the same risk that only through helping each other, we will survive. For a moment, people are united through public health efforts despite the difference in ethnicity, nasionality, or spirituality.

My sisters and brothers, you have chosen to be here today because you are called to serve, to dignify the lives of people you’ve never even met or you may never meet. Your contributions make the work better and healthier place to live in. So, let me change the question. “How many of you now can proudly say, I’m glad to be a public health professional?” Class of 2020, let’s continue our journey in the often exiting, sometimes exhausting, rarely appreciated, but always important work of public health. Thank You.

Nadhira Nuraini Afifa | Student Speaker, Class of 2020 (Video Link)

Okey, demikian rekapannya, semoga bermanfaat ya. Btw, kenapa aku bikin transkrip ini? ya karena akhir-akhir ini lagi mencoba belajar dan mendalami para speaker-speaker hebat di dunia, mulai dari Stve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, dan orang-orang indonesia, utamanya yang berpidato / Commencement Speech di kampus ternama di dunia. hhe.