When a student attends UK, they see from the start that there are many opportunities for involvement and community engagement. This involvement sparks the future’s leaders and helpers. This is true of senior chemical engineering student Endras Fadhilah.
Fadhilah, who is from Jakarta, Indonesia, said one thing that interested her about attending UK was the many different opportunities available for students. Through her involvement, Fadhilah has realized her potential as a leader and role model.
“I’ve always wanted to contribute and be useful as much as possible in every community I’m in because I believe that every one of us is a social creature and we always need each other for support,” Fadhilah said.
In her time as a student, Fadhilah has served as the publicity chair for UK’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers, served as secretary for International Student Council, has been a member of the Indonesian Student Association in Kentucky and Society of Women Engineers.
“The first time I realized I like the idea of leadership is actually when I felt that I failed to reflect the characteristics of a good leader, which has occurred so many times,” Fadilah said. “It’s always been a learning process to be a leader, as there is always something to improve from the previous experience. I like being in a leadership position because I feel more capable in helping other people and make other people’s jobs easier.”
Outside of student organizations, Fadhilah is a tutor at The Study, a free tutoring service on campus for UK students. Fadhilah provides her knowledge from previous classes to help students, including freshmen. Fadhilah particularly likes helping freshman students because she identifies with being in their shoes. Fadhilah said that through tutoring, she has grown academically.
“I’ve made an impact to the university’s community and it’s also impacted me. By sharing my knowledge, I’m getting to review the materials that I am using in class while at the same time helping underclassmen,” Fadhilah said.
Fadhilah also looks to female leaders in her field of engineering. Professor Sarah Wilson and professor Kimberly Anderson have inspired Fadhilah through their career paths and their willingness to help students struggling in engineering classes. Fadhilah said she would like to get industry experience and then potentially pursue a doctoral degree and have a career in academia.
Fadhilah has also participated in a STEM based organization that Wilson is involved with.
“She inspires me because once I get my job and settle, I want to keep contributing to the community that I’m in, especially in the science and engineering field,” Fadhilah said.
After graduation, Fadhilah hopes to pursue a doctoral degree or become involved with research and development as a lab technician. Fadhilah’s goal is to improve people’s lives through her educational background and experiences.
“I like what I’ve been doing and I can see myself doing it for many years to come,” Fadilah said. “I hope to make some contributions to the people’s health through the field of pharmaceutical sciences and engineering. I want to continue being impactful in other people’s lives throughout my whole life.”
