Pursuing the Dream with RAPP Scholarship

Quality education is vitally important for each and every human being, and is number four in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

It’s for this reason that APRIL subsidiary RAPP provides scholarships to promising students from local communities.

Resi Wilinsih comes from Gunung Sahilan, Kampar Regency, Riau, and was determined to earn a higher education in order to improve her family’s economic situation. Her father is a smallholder who earns around Rp1.5 million (approximately US$112) a month, while her mother is a housewife.

Resi, now aged 22, wanted to study for a university degree, but the potential cost was prohibitive. When she graduated from SMK 2 Pekanbaru in 2012, she was told about scholarships offered by RAPP at Akademi Teknik Pulp dan Kertas (ATPK) and decided to give it a try.

“One of the requirements for ATPK scholarship is the candidate has to be a high school science graduate, while I was a chemistry vocational high school graduate,” she said.

“But then, the committee told me that was not a problem. So, I sent the form and they told me that I passed the documents selection.”

In order to receive the scholarship, Resi had to pass several tests. “The first stage is an academic and psychology test. After I passed that, I immediately did an interview test. The last one was a medical test,” she said.

Resi successfully passed all the tests and joined the seventh batch of RAPP scholarship awardees in 2012. The scholarship covered all her tuition fees, as well as a monthly allowance to help with her living expenses.

“I am really thankful to PT RAPP for the scholarship,” said Resi, who is the eldest of three children.

She finished her diploma (D3) from ATPK in 2015, then immediately began her career as a Pulp Technician in RAPP’s Technical Department, where she is responsible for quality control. “I have to check the sample from the pulp production process and make sure the adjustment is right.”

Resi said she enjoy her work at RAPP, because is able to further her interest in engineering and chemistry. She hopes to continue her study in chemistry or industrial engineering in the near future. “I want to be beneficial for other people and the environment,” she said.

Since 1999, PT RAPP has provided 65 scholarships to local high school graduates to pursue diplomas at Akademi Teknologi Pulp dan Kertas.