My Story
I am an Indonesian citizen currently residing in East Lansing, Michigan. My dissertation research is an analysis of the dispute and eventual overturn of the International Standards Schools (ISS) policy in Indonesia. Using content analysis of court documents, this study explores issues of national identity and how the notion is framed leading to the dismantling of the reform.
I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2006 to pursue my master's and i received my MA in education from Michigan State University (MSU) in 2008, specializing in curriculum and teacher leadership. I was then offered admission into the PhD program in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy at MSU Teacher Education Department with guaranteed funding.
I have very much enjoyed my studies at MSU and done well. Outside of the classroom, faculty members and other colleagues tell me that what I do best is finding ways to bring people together to know one another and to work as teams. And it is true that I seek out opportunities to meet people with different culture, gender, religions and to get them to collaborate together. I take the advantage of the fact that in the College of Education there are students from more than 40 countries. I take pride in coming to know all sorts of people in all parts of Erickson Hall at MSU and that they know me as well from my active engagement in the internationalization of the College of Education through various academic and extracurricular activities.
For example, since 2007, I have been actively engaged with LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International & Cross-Cultural Education). As the name entails, LATTICE is a professional learning community that enables teachers in the Greater Lansing area to meet with international students and faculty from Michigan State University to exchange ideas, knowledge, and skills in the interest of enriching their classroom teaching and learning by incorporating global perspectives and issues. My active involvement in LATTICE was recognized with the award of a LATTICE medal. In 2009, I was elected to be a member of the LATTICE Board of Directors who oversee and manage the implementation of professional development opportunities that the organization offers to K-12 teachers in Michigan.
My commitment for furthering cross-cultural and international understandings and collaborations is reflected in other professional engagements undertaken while pursuing a doctoral degree. As a graduate assistant, I worked closely with Dr. Margo Glew, the Program Director of the Global Educators Cohort Program (GECP). GECP is a special strand of the MSU five-year teacher preparation program that trains future teachers to be global educators. During my work with Dr. Glew, I engaged in program and curricular development, including co-founding and managing the Global Initiative Forum for Future Teachers (GIFT), a learning community that meets regularly to foster students’ engagement with international/global related issues.
I also seek to facilitate and bridge institutional and international partnerships with my home country, working in collaboration with the Consulate General of Republic of Indonesia in Chicago. I have facilitated the communication and development of partnerships between MSU and universities in Indonesia, helping put together the Memoranda of Understanding which contain the terms of the partnership. MSU has recognized my commitment to advancing cross-cultural understanding and collaboration by giving me a Homer Higbee International Education Award in 2010. Quoting the award’s remark, I was complimented as “a natural leader with infectious enthusiasm.” In addition, colleagues said that I am a role model for others working to internationalize college experiences at MSU.
In 2011, I was selected as a member of the first group of doctoral students sponsored by our college to go to Vietnam for Fellowship to Enhance Global Understanding to explore the K-12 and higher education system in Vietnam for three weeks. Inspired by the Vietnam experience, I developed a similar program to take 13 doctoral students and one faculty leader to go to Indonesia in 2013. We visited universities and K-12 schools in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Bali. Not only did we visit and observe within the education system, we also worked together to put on workshops and joint seminars. As the initiator of the Indonesian program, I was one of the main liaisons with the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Indonesia as well as with all the institutions that we visited. As I developed the program, I had to network and negotiate with highly ranked officials such as a director general in the Ministry, a president of a major university, as well as school principals and teachers so that they knew exactly what we hoped for during our visit. This trip was such a great success that the College has agreed to fund another group to go to Indonesia in summer 2015.
During the course of pursuing my graduate degrees, both MA and PhD, I have conducted both qualitative and quantitative research, be it for course assignments as well as for my own research projects. I took various qualitative and quantitative research courses that are required for the programs as well as the advanced qualitative research method and policy analysis for my dissertation work. I have been involved in developing surveys and questionnaires and also interview protocols. I am familiar with using SPSS for quantitative data analysis. I also took a year-long graduate certification in community engagement that trained me to be an engaged-scholar who is able to develop and implement partnership with community in various settings.
Prior to pursuing my graduate degree, I served as a project supervisor for an exchange program between Indonesia and Canada as well as a group leader for a youth development program to Malaysia funded by the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Republic Indonesia. When I served for those leadership roles, I engaged in various collaborative efforts developing and implementing community development programs in multiple sites within the three countries. I gained opportunities to work with various constituents, including local community organizations, businesses and various domestic and foreign government agencies. I also honed my management and leadership skills while working as a Training Officer at a coal mining company in South Kalimantan. That position involved responsibility for planning, budgeting, and managing training of over 500 on-site employees. I also had to design and conduct trainings by myself both in English and Indonesian language.
I am an Indonesian citizen currently residing in East Lansing, Michigan. My dissertation research is an analysis of the dispute and eventual overturn of the International Standards Schools (ISS) policy in Indonesia. Using content analysis of court documents, this study explores issues of national identity and how the notion is framed leading to the dismantling of the reform.
I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2006 to pursue my master's and i received my MA in education from Michigan State University (MSU) in 2008, specializing in curriculum and teacher leadership. I was then offered admission into the PhD program in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy at MSU Teacher Education Department with guaranteed funding.
I have very much enjoyed my studies at MSU and done well. Outside of the classroom, faculty members and other colleagues tell me that what I do best is finding ways to bring people together to know one another and to work as teams. And it is true that I seek out opportunities to meet people with different culture, gender, religions and to get them to collaborate together. I take the advantage of the fact that in the College of Education there are students from more than 40 countries. I take pride in coming to know all sorts of people in all parts of Erickson Hall at MSU and that they know me as well from my active engagement in the internationalization of the College of Education through various academic and extracurricular activities.
For example, since 2007, I have been actively engaged with LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International & Cross-Cultural Education). As the name entails, LATTICE is a professional learning community that enables teachers in the Greater Lansing area to meet with international students and faculty from Michigan State University to exchange ideas, knowledge, and skills in the interest of enriching their classroom teaching and learning by incorporating global perspectives and issues. My active involvement in LATTICE was recognized with the award of a LATTICE medal. In 2009, I was elected to be a member of the LATTICE Board of Directors who oversee and manage the implementation of professional development opportunities that the organization offers to K-12 teachers in Michigan.
My commitment for furthering cross-cultural and international understandings and collaborations is reflected in other professional engagements undertaken while pursuing a doctoral degree. As a graduate assistant, I worked closely with Dr. Margo Glew, the Program Director of the Global Educators Cohort Program (GECP). GECP is a special strand of the MSU five-year teacher preparation program that trains future teachers to be global educators. During my work with Dr. Glew, I engaged in program and curricular development, including co-founding and managing the Global Initiative Forum for Future Teachers (GIFT), a learning community that meets regularly to foster students’ engagement with international/global related issues.
I also seek to facilitate and bridge institutional and international partnerships with my home country, working in collaboration with the Consulate General of Republic of Indonesia in Chicago. I have facilitated the communication and development of partnerships between MSU and universities in Indonesia, helping put together the Memoranda of Understanding which contain the terms of the partnership. MSU has recognized my commitment to advancing cross-cultural understanding and collaboration by giving me a Homer Higbee International Education Award in 2010. Quoting the award’s remark, I was complimented as “a natural leader with infectious enthusiasm.” In addition, colleagues said that I am a role model for others working to internationalize college experiences at MSU.
In 2011, I was selected as a member of the first group of doctoral students sponsored by our college to go to Vietnam for Fellowship to Enhance Global Understanding to explore the K-12 and higher education system in Vietnam for three weeks. Inspired by the Vietnam experience, I developed a similar program to take 13 doctoral students and one faculty leader to go to Indonesia in 2013. We visited universities and K-12 schools in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Bali. Not only did we visit and observe within the education system, we also worked together to put on workshops and joint seminars. As the initiator of the Indonesian program, I was one of the main liaisons with the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Indonesia as well as with all the institutions that we visited. As I developed the program, I had to network and negotiate with highly ranked officials such as a director general in the Ministry, a president of a major university, as well as school principals and teachers so that they knew exactly what we hoped for during our visit. This trip was such a great success that the College has agreed to fund another group to go to Indonesia in summer 2015.
During the course of pursuing my graduate degrees, both MA and PhD, I have conducted both qualitative and quantitative research, be it for course assignments as well as for my own research projects. I took various qualitative and quantitative research courses that are required for the programs as well as the advanced qualitative research method and policy analysis for my dissertation work. I have been involved in developing surveys and questionnaires and also interview protocols. I am familiar with using SPSS for quantitative data analysis. I also took a year-long graduate certification in community engagement that trained me to be an engaged-scholar who is able to develop and implement partnership with community in various settings.
Prior to pursuing my graduate degree, I served as a project supervisor for an exchange program between Indonesia and Canada as well as a group leader for a youth development program to Malaysia funded by the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Republic Indonesia. When I served for those leadership roles, I engaged in various collaborative efforts developing and implementing community development programs in multiple sites within the three countries. I gained opportunities to work with various constituents, including local community organizations, businesses and various domestic and foreign government agencies. I also honed my management and leadership skills while working as a Training Officer at a coal mining company in South Kalimantan. That position involved responsibility for planning, budgeting, and managing training of over 500 on-site employees. I also had to design and conduct trainings by myself both in English and Indonesian language.