Being chosen as Putra Putri Brawijaya (PPB) 2022 is a matter of pride for Irgi Rayvinza Miftakhulqaqim and Anastasya Renata Amalia. The two students of Universitas Brawijaya (UB) were selected through several stages of selection followed by 101 participants from all faculties.
“I didn’t expect it, because to get to this point all finalists need to go through a rigorous selection, and all finalists have superior abilities and strong characters, and are very worthy to represent UB,” said the student who is usually called Renata.
She explained, the first stage of selection consisted of administrative selection, open interviews, and deep interviews, until 20 pairs of semifinalists were selected to continue the second selection stage which contained interviews regarding psychology/personality and foreign language skills. From the second phase of the selection, 10 pairs of finalists were selected, which were followed by pre-quarantine and quarantine activities.
During this quarantine period, all finalists received various materials and assignments, photoshoot activities, aptitude tests, and other assessments. Until the climax, the PPB Grand Final was held on November 29, 2022 as an assessment of all the series that had been carried out.
“Being useful for various parties is my biggest dream since I was a child. In my opinion, Putra Putri Brawijaya can be a place to implement the third point of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, namely community service. This can be seen and has been proven from previous PPB programs. I really hope to be able to continue to spread these benefits with all the the members of Putra Putri Brawijaya 2022,” said the student of Tourism Study Program, Faculty of Administrative Sciences.
As Putri Brawijaya, Renata will bring programs or advocacy related to the implementation of an inclusive environment both within PPB, UB, and in the wider community.
“One of the hopes and steps I want to take is to involve students with disabilities to join as Putra Putri Brawjiaya as campus ambassadors,” explained this student from Bandung.
Similar to Renata, Irgi Rayvinza Miftakhulqaqim’s motivation for participating in this event was to upgrade skills, especially soft skills such as communication, public speaking, and others.
This student of the Forestry Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, said that he would bring the vision of “Putra Putri Brawijaya UKM for Universitas Brawijaya to excel with students”.
“Later on, we will advocate for fellow students especially for the community with the aim of introducing and promoting Universitas Brawijaya,” said the man who is familiarly called Ray.
The Chairman of PPB 2022 Committee Miftakhul Cahyati, drg., Sp.PM said that this year’s PPB had a different atmosphere. Because starting this year PPB has become one of the Student Activity Units (UKM) which enliven the dynamics of UB student activity and creativity.
“Even more special because we have the opportunity to collaborate with the Independent Student Entrepreneurial Academy (AWMM) which is a place to educate the nation’s children to be independent in creating generations of entrepreneurs to be proud of,” said Miftakhul.
Putra Putri Brawijaya has been established since 2013 under the name Duta Brawijaya. PPB UKM coach, Dr. drg. Ranny Rachmawati, Sp. Perio said, at the beginning of its establishment, Brawijaya Ambassadors were intended for high school students, but since 2017 an election for Putra Putri Brawijaya has been held with a different concept, namely for students representing each faculty, and is routinely held every year in a series of UB Anniversary events. .
“During its journey, PPB has work programs and activities that they carry out independently, but there is no place to shelter them. Seeing the capacity of those who have the ability to not only look good, but also smart, have good public speaking skills, plus the various achievements they have achieved, we agreed to propose PPB to become an activity unit, until finally PPB is designated as an Students Activity Unit as of April 2022,” explained Ranny.
This UB Faculty of Dentistry lecturer said that currently PPB is often involved in various campus activities, from UB Expo PEKSIMIDA, PEKSIMINAS, AWMM, Mahakarya Brawijaya, and others. The work programs that they carry out also vary, one of which is the “Teman Belajar” program, which is a PPB social activity to teach students in elementary schools. PPB is also often invited as MC, judge, speaker for public speaking, communication, and personal branding in various student activities.
“They are already equipped with various materials during quarantine, plus layers of judging stages, so that we are expected to be ready to go into the field to become campus ambassadors,” she said.
She added, PPB UKM had made many achievements in both the academic and non-academic fields. There are several Putra Putri who won gold medals in the Poster Category at the International Agritech Great Competition (IAGC) 2021, Deputy 1 Kakang Mbakyu 2021, Putera Campus East Java 2022, and Champion 1 in the National Debate Competition for Economic Recovery Strategies Affected by Covid-19.
Starting in 2022, PPB is also entrusted to become UB’s Public Information Openness Ambassador (KIP), where they have the task of providing public information to the public.
“Hopefully PPB can always carry out the mandate and duties well, always develop potential, and maintain an attitude, so that as mouthpieces for the university they can bring the good name of the campus,” concluded Ranny. [Irene/ Humas UB/ Trans. Iir]
