His name has been the center of attention on the national stage thanks to his achievements as a roller skater athlete who won many awards. He managed to combine achievements from outside the campus and from the academic world. Barijani Mahesa Putra, a student of Public Relations Study Program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI) won the title of UI Outstanding Student 2022 at the Vocational Program Level.
Mahesa will represent UI in National Outstanding Student Selection for Diploma Program in 2022, which is through the regional selection and national selection stages. Previously, he competed with dozens of other participants in UI Outstanding Student for Vocational Program Level and became the top 3 finalists. The three of them then competed at the UI level to win the title of UI Outstanding Student at the Vocational Program Level. First place was won by Barijani Mahesa Putra, followed by Stephanie Nuriani Janice (2nd place), and Saskia Dyra E. P. (3rd place). The three of them then competed at the UI level to win the title of UI Outstanding Student at the Vocational Program Level.
First place was won by Barijani Mahesa Putra, followed by Stephanie Nuriani Janice (2nd place), and Saskia Dyra E. P. (3rd place).
Mahesa said, “I feel very proud to be able to prove that it turns out that I can also excel in academics, not just competing in the field that I am involved in, which is sports. This competition is a form of self-validation and proof that athletes can also excel in academics. The stigma that athletes can only excel in non-academic fields is my motivation to remove that stigma.”
Mahesa is listed as a roller skate athlete of DKI Jakarta who has made various national and international achievements. Some of his achievements include 1st place in the Men’s 10 km Team Time Trial (TTT) in PON XX Papua 2021; 1st place in the Men’s 500M + D Sprint in PON XX Papua 2021; 1st place in the 3000m Rellay JIRTA Friendly Competition 2021; and others.
At the international level, Mahesa has also contributed two gold and one silver medals at Malaysia Open 2013; one silver and one bronze medal at Malaysia Open 2015; and one gold medal at Half Marathon 21km in New York, USA in 2018. He has also represented Indonesia several times in roller skating competitions, such as the World Roller Games in Barcelona, Spain in 2019 and the World Championship in Heerde, Netherlands in 2018.
The victories he has achieved so far are the result of hard work, balancing the academics world and sports. “For me, being an outstanding student is not the pinnacle of my academic career, but I want to realize and implement the work or innovation that I have to benefit the people of Indonesia,” explained Mahesa.
Director of Vocational UI Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D said he was very proud of Mahesa’s achievement. “I really appreciate what Mahesa has done so that he can win the title of UI Grand Outstanding Student at the Vocational Program Level to advance to the national level. This shows that the achievements made and owned by each individual, both academic and non-academic, can be a provision for them to continue to develop their work and benefit the wider community,” said Padang.
Mahesa’s achievement was announced during Appreciation Night for UI Student 2022 held at Balai Sidang, UI Depok Campus, on Friday (3/6/2022). Not only as an outstanding student, this year he was selected as one of the roller skate athletes who will compete in the Hangzhou Asian Games next year (2023).
“Following UI Outstanding Student selection was my first experience competing in the academic field, competing with other finalists in terms of knowledge, critical thinking, English speaking skills, which I have never done before. Of course, I will continue to do my best to become a champion and give the best results for Universitas Indonesia so that the implementation of the products and innovations that I make can benefit the people of Indonesia,” said Mahesa.
