The same classroom that once witnessed a student learning in silence now hears him teaching  with confidence. That is now the story of Alexei Wahyudiputra, a graduate of the English  Language and Literature Department of the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga, who  became a lecturer in the very department where his journey first began. 

    Looking back, his interest in English Literature did not begin at university. It began during his  high school years, when he was originally a student of the natural science program who also  developed a growing interest in English Literature. Over time, he found himself increasingly  drawn to the subject, which eventually became the reason he chose to pursue a degree in English  Language and Literature. When asked why he chose Universitas Airlangga, Alex said that the  university is already one of the most famous and finest universities in Indonesia. “There was also  another reason,” he said with a laugh. “It was close to my house.” 

    During his time as a college student, Alex achieved numerous accomplishments throughout his  academic journey. He once won 3rd place in the essay competition held by TEDx Universitas  Airlangga with Reversing the Stereotype as the theme. He also presented his paper with the title  “THE BOYCOTTING OF 'KUCUMBU TUBUH INDAHKU' AS A THREAT TOWARDS FILM  AND LOCAL INDONESIAN CULTURE” at the 2nd International Conference on Art, Design, Education and Cultural Studies (ICADECS) 2020 held by Universitas Negeri Malang on October  24th, 2020. He has also published many other papers and journals. 

    When asked about any advice he would give to students who want to achieve excellence in  writing as he did, Alex emphasized that the key is simply to start writing. “Just start writing.  Start writing anything. Just start narrating your life and start to observe a lot of things in your  life and put them in your writing.” He explained that writing regularly helps build familiarity and  confidence over time. “If you have a bunch of writing, have lots of text, then you eventually start  to get used to it for other purposes. At the end of the day, your writing might not be perfect, but  at least you have something. At least you have the base, keep writing, and you will get the base  of writing. The beauty of writing is that you write for yourself. No one would judge it besides  you,” he stated. Alex then encouraged students to gradually involve others in the process by  seeking feedback. “The next step you can do is ask your friends to read your writing and ask  their point of view.” 

    Alex shared that being a teacher has always been his dream. He never knew what subject he  would teach in the future, but he had a vision of becoming a teacher at a junior high school or a  senior high school. However, his perception changed once he entered university. He found  himself inspired by the way his lecturers delivered their lessons. Unlike school teachers, lecturers  had more freedom in shaping their teaching styles and encouraging class discussion. That  flexibility and individuality fascinated him and eventually sparked his desire to become a  lecturer himself. The opportunity came unexpectedly. In 2024, while he was working as a staff  researcher at the Airlangga Institute of Indian Ocean Crossroads, two senior literature lecturers  were nearing retirement. Around this time, the head of the department offered him a position as a  literature lecturer. For him, the offer felt less like a coincidence and more like the natural  continuation of a dream he had carried for years. 

    Alex was actually a Cultural Studies student instead of a Literature student. He explained that  Cultural Studies and Literature share certain overlaps in their foundations and methodologies,  and that he felt equally grounded in both fields. “Fun fact, Cultural Studies and Literature were  once part of the same subject at Universitas Airlangga,” he added. He further noted that,  historically, literature as a discipline is much older, with roots in philology. Cultural studies, by  contrast, emerged in the 1960s, drawing heavily on theories from sociology, anthropology, and  literary studies. In many ways, he emphasized, literary studies played a significant role in  shaping the development of cultural studies, rather than the other way around. Since then on,  both disciplines have been in constant dialogues to enrich each other’s repertoire. Cultural  studies explores almost everything, from our daily lives to how we live in culture—a sensitivity  that is deemed mundane. Culture is treated as a way of life, not simply as high, canonical art  expression. Cultural Studies critically examines different aspects of society and culture, often  using literature as a medium for analysis and exploration. Furthermore, Literature deals with text  and interprets the world through its components. Not only it analyzes the methodology we read, 

it also deconstructs the world through a literary lens, exploring how to see life through textual  components. What Literature brings is a sensitivity towards textual analysis. 

    Regardless of whether he is a student or a lecturer, he still faces the stereotypes associated with  the Humanities. Stereotypes and societal underestimation regarding the future of Humanities  graduates still persist, driven by the widespread assumption that Humanities students are less  likely to obtain stable careers or high-paying jobs, which consequently leads to the  undervaluation of their field and societal contributions. Society often asks, “What are we going  to be in the future?”, and yet we can be anything. He mentioned that Humanities graduates can  become more than just lecturers; they can be researchers, work in the creative industry, become  civil servants, join the film industry, write scripts, and many other opportunities. The choice of  what job we will pursue is one of life’s beauties because it comes from ourselves. The skills you  have are only known to yourself, and you will start self-selecting and thinking about them. 

    “We are learning about a lot of things. Why do we need to study English in Indonesia? We learn  in the English Department that English is multifaceted–beyond its existence as a language– and  how we, Indonesians, investigate English is in itself a self-reflexive practice. Our lives are  shaped because of English, and we learn about the complexity of it. We bring our identity as  Indonesians in seeing English. We learn communication skills that are in English, thus we are  learning how the English language has its own context-based logicality as well as criticality.  Critical thinking is part and parcel to studying English. You can be anything, Edfolks! Graduates  from EDSA are indeed very broad,” Alex elaborated with a smile. 

    Moreover, Alex expressed his view on the recent issues regarding the Ministry of Higher  Education, Science, and Technology. They mentioned that they might close majors that have  little relevance to the current industrial world. He thinks it is not the best decision and that those  who hold the power to close majors are rushing into it. He emphasizes that while certain fields,  such as Physics, are often agreed to be universal albeit they also have to be in dialogue with their  surrounding contexts, there must also be an awareness of other disciplines that are laden with  local sensibility, such as the rich artistic social and humanities traditions found in at ISI and  elsewhere. “A lot of people say that humanity is in danger. We are taught to communicate and  narrate since our lives are about narrating. You are going to do a lot of things that are the art of  narrating, we're learning how to understand the text and communication from it. The kind of  sensitivity can be brought from that. The sensitivity that is happening right now comes from all  of these majors,” he continued, conveying his thoughts on it. 

    During his career, Alex has gone through many hardships. To him, there isn't just one 'biggest  challenge'; rather, his career has been shaped by many. He mentioned that pursuing his  bachelor’s and master’s degrees for 5 years is also one of them. He also revealed how deeply the  grief of losing his brother affected him. Not to mention that as a lecturer, he needs to bring the  same energy to every class every day. He claimed that what he expected and the reality of being  a lecturer were mostly the same, and he anticipated that he would have to face one responsibility 

after another. He expressed his happiness in being a lecturer. He cherishes both the atmosphere  at the Faculty of Humanities and the experience of teaching humanities. He loves interacting  with the students, and that's what keeps him going. Though he naturally avoids crowds and  prefers the quiet company of books, navigating large groups of people is a challenge he  wholeheartedly embraces. He loves and enjoys his job as a lecturer. 

    For Alex, the definition of success is when you are happy with your condition, whatever it may  be. Admittedly, as a child, he thought success meant getting rich and being the boss. However, as  he grew older, his perspective shifted. He came to believe that true success means maintaining  happiness even when life grows heavy and strikes from the most unexpected corners of  existence, finding a glint of joy even in the darkest times. “Everything will pass. If you are  happy, sad, or even angry, it will pass. Everything new will happen every day, and it will pass.  Life goes on,” he added with a smile. “The point of life is to live well. If you live with happiness,  then you're a successful person.” 

Journalist: Nadya Niswah Rahmania Wijaya 

Editor: Yanita Farah Amalia