Achieving a Better Future through Education

Dewi Tambunan (front, sixth from left) during Scholarship Signing Agreement Ceremony.

Higher education was only a dream for Dewi’s family. None of her family members, from her grand father to her cousins continued their education to university level. Because of the family’s financial limitation, they could only finish high school.

Dewi Oviani Tambunan was born in Pekanbaru on October 16, 1995. Her father works as a truck driver, transporting logs for a small company. Her mother is a home maker. Dewi is the youngest of three children. Her eldest brother works as a driver and helps their father. Her other sibling does not have a job yet.

From elementary to high school, Dewi’s academic performance was outstanding. After graduating from SMAN 5 Pekanbaru, she was accepted at Mathematics and Science Faculty of Bogor Agriculture University.

Although her father always said for Dewi to focus on studying, she was concerned about her family financial condition. She was trying to find ways to lessen their burden. One day, during the Third Semester, Dewi saw a campus announcement that Tanoto Foundation was receiving applications for scholarships. Dewi felt that her chance finally arrived.
She then started to prepare the paper work that was required for the application process. However, she was confused because she had to provide her parent’s salary slip as proof of income.

“I did not want to create problems for my mother because she did not know what a payment slip was,” Dewi said. “At that time, my father and brother were still in the forest to pick up logs. So, to get the slip, my mother went to the garage where my father worked. To reach the garage, my mother had to take public transportation and continued her journey on foot because the garage was out of the way.”

Supported by her dream to get the scholarship and serious effort, Dewi was able to go through the different stages of the selection process. After completing the psychological test and interview successfully, Dewi finally became a Tanoto Scholar, or recipient of Tanoto Foundation scholarship. Her hope to lessen her parents’ burden has been realized. Moreover, the support comes from Tanoto Foundation, an institution that is well known in her campus.

“From other Tanoto Scholars, I learned that Tanoto Foundation does not only provide financial support. Tanoto Foundation also supports the Scholars to improve their soft skills and ability to become leaders in the future. Tanoto Scholars are encouraged to network with others from Indonesia. I am happy and proud to be a Tanoto Scholar,” said Dewi.