UNS — Proud achievement was accomplished by the Special Education Program (PKh) student Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Zalfaa Azalia Pursita. Zalfaa was selected as the 1st winner in the Central Java Language Ambassador 2021 announced in the Final Raya Pemilihan Duta Bahasa Jawa Tengah 2021 on Sunday (20/6/2021).
In the event held online and offline from MG Setos Hotel Semarang, Zalfaa was announced the winner among the 17 finalists from various regions in Central Java. The 21 years old student admitted that she got mixed feelings after announced as the first winner, touched, delighted, and thrilled. “Alhamdulillah, the process that I went through for so long brought a sweet result in the mid of this year,” Zalfaa said on Tuesday (22/6/2021).
Zalfaa was delighted to reap the result of her hard work in the last year. In the event held by the Balai Bahasa Provinsi Jawa Tengah (Central Java Language Center), Zalfaa proposed Sauna Citra program (Sahabat untuk Pecinta Literasi – Friends for Literature Lovers) that has two main agendas, free book lending (Sanbukis) and Baca-In (Reading and Inspiring). Zalfaa initiated Sauna Citra because she likes to read books, and she wanted to take serious actions to improve community literacy.
In the interview, Zalfa revealed that she actually applied for Book Ambassador 2020, which was postponed and gave her time to realize her program. “So, you can say that since last year I had prepared this program. Alhamdulillah, at the beginning of this year, one of my programs, Sanbukis, was realized,” she added.
To secure the achievement, Zalfa went through a strict selection process. Starting from administrative selection with more than 190 applicants, interview, and other stages after she was selected as the Best 20, such as online briefing, Language and Literature Technical Assistance based on Information Technology, and final assessment.
In the final assessment held on Saturday (19/6/2021), Zalfaa was asked to present her program and answered juries’ questions in three languages: Indonesian, local, and foreign. In the Best Three round, she was asked to answer a question in three languages in under three minutes. With her thoughtful answer, the student who will participate in student exchange for the Kampus Merdeka program in University College London won 1st place. This achievement placed Zalfa as Central Java representative in the national Language Ambassador held in a few months. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti