My name is Gracia Kristina, you can call me Gracia. I was raised at Hati Suci Shelter. I study at Pancasila University, one of the best Pharmacy majors of all Indonesian private universities. I started my study in September 2019. I was very happy and grateful when I got this scholarship. I am so thankful to Heliconia for trusting me. I will never give up until I reach my dreams. My dreams are that I want to work in the health sector and open a pharmaceutical business. My commitment to Heliconia is that I will study hard to get the best grades and never disappoint everyone who helps me.
Message from Gracia, August 2022
Time flies so fast, the 6th semester is over. This semester my classes were still online but the final exam was offline. The final exam started on July 4th until July 15th, 2022. During the exam week, we were not allowed to go inside the exam room before the exam started, so we had to wait in the cafeteria. We could enter the exam room 15 minutes before the exam started. On the last day of the exam, I took a photo with my friends, the class of 2019.
When the school holidays arrived, together with all Hati Suci children, we went to Dufan Entertainment Park. There we played from morning to evening and we were very happy. We were allowed to go home, but there were nine children staying in the shelter including me. I decided to stay in the shelter because my college was not finished and I want to study and prepare for my final exam. Together with other children who stayed in the shelter, we went to the movie to watch Jurassic World and Minions, we also went to Monas (National Monument). I also visited my grandparent’s house with my family, I was very happy because this year I could meet my grandma and grandpa after two years we didn’t meet.
Message from Gracia, 2021
In the 5th semester, I had both online and offline classes, but I did more online classes rather than offline classes. My lessons started in September 2021 and until January 2022. This semester I had more lessons, two theory lessons, and one practical lesson each day from Monday until Saturday. I was so happy because I could do my practical lessons on campus and met my friends. But to go to campus, I must wake up early. If I’m late, I should join the online class on the way (on the train).
I started my exam on December 27th, 2021 until January 12th, 2022. The exam was online and the duration to do the exam was very short. One day when I was doing the exam, the internet connection was bad and I was worried that I didn’t have enough time to finish the exam, but I did my best. I am so worried about the results, I wish I will get good scores.
In December 2021, my responsibility in the Student Council (SEMA) as the Head of Gema Farmasi (pharmacy magazine) was over. My friends and I went to campus to take pictures together. As the Head of Gema Farmasi, I learned many things, such as how to create a magazine and learned leadership.
During the pandemic, I spend a lot of my time with my friends in the shelter and I often help them to finish their homework too. After two years, finally this year I meet my family. I am very happy. I celebrated Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve with my family. I hope this pandemic can pass soon and next semester the classes will be offline. I hope you always stay healthy.
Message from Gracia, 2021
In the 4th semester, my classes were online. In June I went to campus to do some practical lessons, but it wasn’t mandatory, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I got the same schedule as the last semester. The theory lessons were started in March 2021 until May 2021 and the practical lessons were started in June 2021 until August 2021. I was so sad because we couldn’t go to campus, but I still could increase my study time with my friends to relearn the lessons that we didn’t understand.
This semester I joined a Student Council (SEMA) as the Head of Gema Farmasi (faculty magazine). In this organization, we create a magazine containing about the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Pancasila, and health. It was my first experience creating magazine content. I also joined PPCC (Pancasila Patient Counseling Community). In PPCC we learned how to give good counseling to patients and how to explain the medicine that they should take.
I also experienced being positive for Covid-19. I was quarantined for almost three weeks and I was so bored because I couldn’t go out of the bedroom and I couldn’t play with my friends in the shelter. Many activities that I couldn’t do during quarantine.
I hope you are always healthy and this pandemic can pass soon, so we can meet others again. I also miss my family because we don’t meet each other for a long time.
Message from Gracia, February 2021
In the 3rd semester, I started my practice lessons on November 30th, 2020 until February 1st, 2021. My classes used to be online during Covid-19, but in January, I started going back to campus to do my practice lessons. I went to campus once every two weeks. Even though the students were already back to study on campus, we had limited students in the class. There were around 12 to 15 students in each classroom. We mostly had online classes, I had so many assignments but unfortunately, I couldn’t access the library pages on the university website. I must manage my study time well.
This semester I joined the Pharmacy Fair in the documentation division and that was my first experience on a committee at the university. I also joined the Inauguration Event. The inauguration event was held in November 2020. Then in December, I joined the university Christmas Eve event. All of those events were done online.
My Christmas holiday started on December 21st, 2020 until January 3rd, 2021. I spent my Christmas holiday in the shelter because of this pandemic, I couldn’t back home to visit our parents. I must take a PCR test if we decide to back home, while the PCR test is expensive. So I decided to stay in the shelter. Most of the children in the shelter didn’t go home and we celebrated Christmas and New Year together. We had special dinners together on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. We grilled some corn, fish, and sausages, and we were so happy and enjoyed it together. I hope this pandemic can finish soon and we all stay healthy.
Message from Gracia, 2020
I started the 2nd semester in March 2020. After two weeks, when the coronavirus spread in Indonesia, all of my classes must be done online. The online classes were according to the lectures’ schedule. I don’t like the online classes because I have difficulty understanding the lessons, also sometimes the internet network is not stable. I’m sad because this semester I can’t do my lab work on campus. Because of this pandemic, I also can’t meet my lovely friends.
My middle exam and final exam were online. The time to do the exam was so short because we were given only 1 hour for about 50-60 questions. In several subjects, such as Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Physics, and Chemical Analysis, I felt that I really needed more time to finish them.
Because of this pandemic, I become closer with my friends in the shelter. Every morning, we always exercise together. I often help them to finish their homework too. When they were on holiday, we wanted to make their holiday so fun. So, we decided to create an event. This event was held for four days. On the first day, there was a sports competition and this was a good start because they were so happy. On the second day, there was a storytelling competition and we were so amazed because their performances were perfect. On the third day, there were special performances from each group, there were four groups and they were looking so cute. On the last day, we had a trivia quiz, a TikTok battle dance, and we made an activity like on the ‘running man’ Korean tv show.
All of us were so happy. We, the college students as the committee in that event were so hard to choose the winner because they were so great at each competition.
I hope this pandemic can pass soon, so we can meet our friends, family, and all people who make our days colorful again. I hope our activities can run as usual. Thanks for taking the time to read my story.
Sincerely, Gracia
Message from Gracia, 2020
Hello, I want to tell you about my experience in my 1st semester. I was so happy because I could study in every lesson this semester very well. I also joined the Wall Magazine organization at the campus, and I was elected as a treasurer. I was so happy to be part of this organization.
On December 13th, 2019, I joined Christmas Eve at University. That was my first Christmas with my campus friends. My Christmas holiday started on December 20th, 2019 until January 6th, 2020. I spent my holiday with my family, but during the holiday I also had to study to prepare for the final exam that was held on January 7th, 2020. The final exam was started on January 7th to 22nd 2020, it was about 2 weeks examination. Before I faced the final exam, my friends and I studied together during the holiday. When the final exam was done, we have a holiday again until we started the next semester.
On January 18th, 2020, my friends and I at the Hati Suci shelter held a Christmas celebration too. We invited our parents to attend this Christmas Celebration, and we gave them special show performances. In January I also celebrated Chinese New Year with my family. I visited my grandma’s house.
Greetings, Gracia
Message from Gracia, 2020
First, I want to say thank you for trusting me by giving me a university scholarship. I am very pleased and excited to learn new lessons. I was accepted to Pancasila University (UP), one of the best Pharmacy Major in Indonesian private universities.
In this first semester, I have 11 subjects. I have class every Monday to Friday. Every Friday, I joined Congregational Fellowship (worship) and I joined an extracurricular called Wall Magazine Club. I also participated in a camping event that was held for three days in Arra Lembah Pinus, Puncak. In that event, we worshipped God, played games, and had fun together. By joining that event, I got many friends from various faculties.
The activities of the academic society are also required special attention because the subjects are difficult and the lecturer doesn’t have enough time to give attention to every student, because there are many students in the class. So, I try to reread again the materials and I need to learn them by myself and look for the information on the internet. During mid-test, I studied at home alone, and sometimes with my friends. I must study hard to get good scores. When I was doing the Human Anatomy practice exam, suddenly I got the information from my mother that my grandmother passed away. That news made me sad and disturbed my concentration when I doing the exam. It was a very bad day and I hate that day.
That was my experience until the middle of the semester. I get many new experiences since I started to study at university!
Sincerely, Gracia
