Edric Subur is an Information system student in SMU and has been an active member in SMUKI since 2012. He will be graduating from SMU in 2015 with Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Management Information Systems, General degree.

 

Experience in university life

 

Edric was vice president to SMUKI from the period 2012 to 2013 and was the director of GAYA2014: 2 seconds. Edric was also an external relations vice president of AISEC in 2012. He was a trainer to Stage It and an active member for Emix, chamber choir, broadcast entertainment, and SMU real business. He had also been a residence senior for the period 2012-2015.

 

Achievements

 

In 2014, Edric was awarded with the SMU innovation award for winning 4th place of the Southeast mobile application competions. He and his friends started up a chat apllication called Leggo with the aim to help social people to make up get-together plans easily. Edric also won the 2012 Arty awards from the sheer number of art club activities that he contributed into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a motto in life?

 

"Yes, Just do it. The first step is always the hardest, when you wake up in the morning, the hardest thing is not brushing your teeth or showering, but it is to get out from your bed. When you successfully get out from bed, other things are easier to do."

 

How was your overall experience in SMU?

 

"It was great. I have been exposed to a lot of experiences from a lot of clubs, mini-exchange in china, and internships. All of those experiences have really taught me about the values in life, so if I look back to where I was 4 years ago, I can say that I am truly a different guy."

 

What CCAs did you joined throughout your SMU life?

 

"In my first year, I tried joining EMIX, Broadcast entertainment, AISEC, Debate, Dance, and Choir. I think it is a good thing to try out as many CCAs as you can in the first year. So you should attend a few classes or sessions, and if you like it just continue and if you don’t just drop it and go to the other CCAs.

 

I was more committed in joining SMUKI, BE and StageIt after the trial period. I joined BE for a while because I like emceeing and StageIt because I like acting. I stop most of my CCA in year 3 because in year 4 I wanted to try different CCAs, like sailing, kayaking, and Thai boxing."

 

What led you to join SMUKI?

 

"I don’t think I click as much with the people of my other clubs compared to those from SMUKI. But besides that I think that what made me join SMUKI was when I saw the production. I thought at first SMUKI is just a traditional Indo CCA, and is just not engaging enough for me to be interested in. But once I saw the production, I think that SMUKI is actually a cool club, like the way the production is created in a way that envelops traditional and modern elements. From then onwards, I decided to be in the next production and I joined SMUKI."

 

Why do you take on a lot of clubs and outside studying activities even though you already have a lot in your plate?

 

"For me getting a super good GPA is not a must, but exposing yourself to many experiences is essential because you cannot get those experiences from just studying. Throughout my years in SMU, I took on a lot of workshops and clubs that led me on meeting different people. Expanding your network will also expand your mindset and comfort zone. The value that I get from exposing myself to new experiences is greater than that of just getting a superb GPA."

 

How do you balance your study with your other commitments?

 

"I believe that there will always time for you to do something that you like. Everyone has the same amount of time; it is just a matter of how you allocate your time. If I spend a lot of time in CCAs then it means that I have lesser time in my studying. But that doesn’t mean that my studies will fall; I just cut back the time I spent on social media stuff and “facebooking “so that I have more time in studying. So it depends on how you manage your time well.

 

I always try my best to balance my studying and other activities, but sometimes I did too much time on other commitments beside schoolwork, so my friend will remind me to make up for what I miss in the group project."

 

Do you have any advice for SMUKI members for their school years?

 

"When you still have time in your hand, just get out of your comfort zone because I believe that what determines your success in the future depends on how big your uncomfortable zone is. The more you are exposed to your comfort zone the less you understand what is happening outside and you will be stagnant. If you want to be more that you are now, you have to do something different."

 

How was your 10 weeks exchange experience in China?

 

"On the end of year one I joined an exchange to China that was held by AISEC. I was assigned to this non-profit organization to help teach English to the people that have syndrome x, where adults are stuck in a children body, so they look old but they are small. So they cannot go to the workforce and instead they do puppet shows for tourist. My living condition wasn’t very nice, I had to share a room with 3 other people, and the meals mostly comprised of vegetables. But the community that was involved in this exchange was really nice. After I finished my exchange, I was ready for anything."

 

What is your advice on exchange programs to SMUKI members?

 

"I think I grew a lot from only 10 weeks and anyone doing a 6 months exchange would gain so much more, so I think everyone should do exchange. . I have heard that exchange experience would open up our perspectives and expose ourselves to different mindsets cause people from different regions would see life differently, for instance in Singapore, the people here would concentrate on working and excelling in their career, while in Europe they tend to focus in what they enjoy doing, even though they don’t make money out of it and such. I used to be reluctant about going out with stranger, but during my exchange I learn to let loose and be more daring to talk to anyone. Besides that, I get to try out a lot different things, like bungee jumping."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How was your internship experience?

 

"My first internship was in a start up company called Rainmaker labs. There, I tried out different things and learnt a lot from working in different hats. I was supposed to do project management in IT field but then I was assigned in roles like company operation, marketing, sales, and event organizing.

 

My second internship was in VISA and I can say that I didn’t learn as much as I did from the first internship because VISA is an already established company so it didn’t need much of my help compared to how a start up company did. Visa is convenient and comfortable because they have a well structured. I also enjoyed one program where I had the chance to become creative and not to do daily operational stuff inside the company. The program is a case competition to create a new payment innovation in teams. I had to coordinate with everyone, do a lot of research, and present to the CEO of VISA in Asia; I mean it is not an everyday thing to get to talk with an established CEO, so the overall experience was fun."

 

What factors would you consider when choosing an internship?

 

"I would consider the learning experience from the internship and the reputation of the company. An internship is an opportunity for you to learn about the field that you are interested in the long run, so you should not work to just finish the internship (treating it as an assignment only).

 

I encourage people to work in a start up company and then in a big company to just experience the difference in the company. If you are the type to learn by doing than it is better for you to try on a start up company but I f you need guidance or mentors, than going to big companies is a better choice."

 

 

How to utilize the most out of internship experience?

 

"When doing an internship, you should pour out all of your effort into it because I have seen most people doing it just to clear it out.  Take it as a real work experience, that way you’ll have a better understanding on working to the field you are interested in. You can also impress the mentors and managers and also learn more."

 

What is your hardest moment in SMU?

 

"I’m now more comfortable to being independent when I used to hate doing everything in my own like eating Koufu by myself. I think there is a point of time where I think I didn’t have a very good friend maybe it is because I always hop around and didn’t spend that enough time in the same group. But there is actually a gift for me in that I get to do a lot of things that I want without having to care what people would think about me, like I don’t have to wait for other people to eat. I think everybody should have that independence because everyone cannot follow you every time and you meet new people along the way so you should never feel bad to be alone."

 

If you had to give advice to yourself when you enter SMU 4 years ago what will it be?

 

"Meet and network with a lot of people, cause I regretted that I started networking at year 3. When I was in my first year I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I found that answer after meeting a lot of people, especially people who started up their own business early. The reason why I don’t know what I wanted to do before is because I didn’t expose myself that much to those kind of people. But from year 3 onwards, I started joining networking sessions that interest me, like startup entrepreneurs meet up. You get to learn a lot from exposing yourself to different people because everyone has their own stories and experiences to tell. By borrowing what they experience and implementing it in your life may be a stepping-stone for your success. So I would tell myself to not be afraid to try out new things and to talk to more new people."