Mutiara Hapsari, mahasiswi Universitas Bakrie dari Program Studi Manajemen (2010) mendapatkan beasiswa dari program yang diselenggarakan oleh The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs yaitu Indonesia English Language Study Program (IELSP). Program ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa Inggris para calon pemimpin bangsa
sekaligus mengembangkan kemampuan berpikir kritis selama 8 minggu di universitas-universitas kenamaan di Amerika Serikat I am Tiara, a representative of Universitas Bakrie, who has been granted scholarship from Department of States to study intensive English Academic Program and American Culture. In total, there are 80 students who got scholarship all over Indonesia which had been divided into four different destinations to study. Currently, I am studying in Colorado State University, Fort Collins from August 13th until October 6th 2012. During that time, I can experience many activities in summer and fall seasons. PDO (June, 24th—27th 2012) Pre Departure Orientation was 3-days intensive preparation for going to USA. It aimed to give sufficient information related to the sponsor of the scholarship, activities during our study in USA, and our contribution as a form of giving back to the society around us. IELSP has been arranged by non-profit organization named Institute of International Education concerning to international exchange of people and ideas which is located in New York, USA. In collaboration with Department of States, US Embassy in Indonesia and Indonesia International English Foundation (IIEF), IIE has successfully gathered financial funding to support their program, one of them is IELSP. This program is designed with three major purposes: - Learning educational system especially English Academic Program and American Culture. - Being an ambassador for strengthening understanding for both countries in terms of culture which leads to enhancing acceptance and promoting tolerance. - Expanding networking and enhancing the capacity of as an individuals to address local and global challenges. IELSP (August, 13th—October, 6th 2012) Timeline of activities in Colorado State University: - Screening before departure It aimed to ensure all belongings were aligned with international standard. It was held couple hours before departure in Jakarta Airport Hotel. - Flight from Jakarta-Singapore-Narita-Seattle-Denver It took around 22 hours to get to Fort Collins where CSU is located. Although it was tiring trip, it was exciting. During the trip, we had been given an assignment which was making an essay related with objectives and benefit of IELSP. - IIE Orientation and Placement Test First week in Fort Collins was a hectic week. It was the time that we had to be able to adapt with major changing of cultures. In this week, we were introduced to the university, dining hall, dorm and many things. We also took a placement test for ensuring our capability aligns with the degree of difficulty of the materials in classes. I personally got all advance classes which means my capability in English Academic is sufficient to learn materials in higher level. - Class and Preparation of Indonesian Day In between my academic classes, I was also being a person in charge for Indonesian Day. It was a cultural event from Colorado grantees performing Indonesian cultures such as traditional dance, music, song and so on. I was trusted as the coordinator for Indonesian day which means arranging the schedule, meeting, composing the music, choreography and coordinating with other Colorado grantees. As representatives of Indonesia, twenty people who are Colorado Grantees tried to put their efforts to make it amazing. We also coordinated with Indonesian organization concerning in arts. - Obama Campaign at CSU Tuesday, 28th of August 2012 was a day when US President Barack Obama spoke at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He gave a speech which aimed both at mobilizing young voters for the next election in USA. From this moment, I learnt how the political views of republic and democrat parties. They both generally have the same goals, but they have different approaches. For example, republic may give tax break for rich people so they can open many business and open job field to decrease unemployment. On the other hand, democrat prefers to raise tax for rich people which at the end will be distributed to American as form of social welfare. - Tour De Fat Fort Collins was well-known as a city which focuses in sustainable development and environment-friendly activities. Tour de Fat is part of annual cultural event in Fort Collins. It brought together cyclists of all stripes and styles, and the annual bike parade (registration at 10 a.m., parade at 11 a.m.). It was not only about bike as healthy & green lifestyles but also entertainment. - Economics-related-Presentation One of my activities in class is presenting issue related with my major and Indonesia. I was presenting about China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement which has become controversial issue in Indonesia. As developing country, most of industries in Indonesia are micro, small and medium enterprises. Those types of business have been affected by the implementation of Free Trade in Indonesia. It’s due to the competition among ASEAN countries which to some extent make our domestic producers harder to compete because they are lack of experience, resources, or even government support. However, free trade can be a good indicator of expanding our market across ASEAN countries. - Hiking to Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain is a main mountain range in western North America. It stretches more than 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. In addition, Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the north-central region of Colorado. Hiking to rocky mountain national park was my first experience in hiking, but I was so excited because of the majestic mountain views. - Indonesian Day One of projects as Colorado grantees besides studying is performing Indonesian culture. In this event, I had responsibility to become the coordinator because my friends trusted my ability to arrange the performance. In several weeks, I was so buy meeting with other Indonesian students, arranging schedule for Indonesian day, making the choreography, and composing the music. In cooperation with 19 Indonesian students who were also actively involved in preparation, we’ve made wonderful event where more than hundred people came. I personally performed in fashion show, Peacock Dance (a traditional dance from Java), and modern dance. It was awesome because we also got sponsored from Indonesians who have been living in Colorado to prepare Indonesian food for all guests. I personally am proud of all Indonesian here because they were really helpful and cooperative in arranging this event. - Watching Football Match Different with other countries where soccer is the most famous sport, Football is the most popular and famous sport in USA. American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Usually points can be achieved by running with ball or throwing ball to a teammate. Different scores are varied through different types of defense and offense such as carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone. - Visiting Colorado History Museum Learning culture of Colorado was part of the objectives of this program therefore we had a chance to go to Colorado History Museum. Before we went to museum, we had lunch in Hard Rock Café, Denver which is full of history of one of legendary bands named The Beatles. In the museum, there are many things kept to remind people about the history of Colorado. The museum is designed to ignite imaginations of all ages about Colorado history through exhibits and programs that combine technology, media, environments and artifacts. In my opinion, the best part of the museum especially in Keota School exhibit hall is the interactive yearbook where guests can insert their photo into a video display of a 1918 Keota High School yearbook. It was fun interactive learning tools to describe history throughout years. Those are part of my activities during studying in USA. Due to the enourmous number of activities here I can only explain some of them. However, I hope it can give the depiction of many beneficial activities that all Colorado Grantees have in Colorado.
