Every Chevening Scholar is a Bright Star!

Lishia Erza, one of our 2009-2010 alumnus, completed a Master’s course in Social and Global Justice at the University of Nottingham. Lishia is currently doing a PhD in Edinburgh (Governance for Excluded Communities) and chairs the United Nations Association Edinburgh’s working group for Democracy, Governance and Humanities. In this article, Lishia tells us about the day she met our new 2011/12 Scholars from Indonesia studying in Edinburgh.

I had the pleasure and honour of greeting four Chevening Scholars 2011/2012 from Indonesia, arriving in Edinburgh early in the morning. Dwi Rahardiani, Rathria Arrina, Widdi Mugijayani, and Elvina Nur Anita.

Giving friendly hugs and warm greetings to four exhausted scholars reminded of my own experience two years ago: hours of inflight films, raiding British Airways pantry for snacks, overweight luggage, and excitement shooting up and down my veins even though I was conscious about my fatigue.

As in other first days, the scholars spent the day unpacking, admiring their new homes for the next year, and asking 1001 questions about everything under the sun. I rejoined the pack for dinner at a local Indian eaterie, New Delhi (10 to 10), which to those who have been in Edinburgh would have encountered the place one way or the other.

Riding my bus home, I smiled to myself and realised how very unique each scholar is. Every scholar is handpicked by the Chevening team, through rigorous process of sorting through applications and mulling over interview responses. A scholar could have strong opinions about everything, a scholar could be congenial, a scholar could be intelligent but shy, a scholar could be amused by the little things he/she encounters… savouring every minute of the Chevening-year experience.

The four I met today are only a fraction of the thousands of unique scholars throughout the world each year. Which to my mind means the wealth of talent in the Chevening pool.

As a Chevening alumni myself, it is clear from the onset that we were chosen because of our unique approaches to life, to our disciplines. Although not in diplomatic service, upon completion of our degrees we become ambassadors of a British-influenced approach to solving problems of the world. What intrigues me is how more and more Chevening scholars I’ve met and talked with take on a social constructivist philosophy — that society shapes ways of the world, not become subject to circumstance.

If the world we live in is socially constructed, and if Chevening scholars are widely spread across all walks, then I have to conclude that Chevening scholars are agents of change in society.  As we are all handpicked bright stars, like stars in the night sky, alone we are unseen in the dark. But like stars in the night sky, in the darkness of global challenges, together we shine brighter. We are a society of talents, linked by the Chevening network.

Welcome to new incoming Chevening 2011/2012. Enjoy your Chevening year. You’re a star!

If you are a Chevening scholar or alumnus and you would like to submit a blog entry, please get in touch. 500 to 700 words please. Remember that you can link to your own blog page if you have more to say. We would be particularly interested to hear about the initial experiences of the UK from our new 2011/12 scholars.