By
Name : I Putu Arik Budiarsana
NIM : 0912021102
Class : A
A Final Project of Writing III course

When I decided to involve in extracurricular activities by being a member of Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa (UKM) Pers Mahasiswa Visi, I did have no reasons for getting such kind of advantageous and disadvantageous things. Firstly, I felt that my spare times are reduced by the activities and I also felt so tired of those. However, I also feel that some reasons emerge to cause me stay in following the activities. Despite of the tiredness of the activities, I’ve found three advantageous things when actively involved in extracurricular activities, especially UKM.
The first advantage is that I can satisfy my interest and develop my ability. Those are basically my reasons to attend the extracurricular activities. I think that UKM is the only association in Undiksha which accommodates the student’s interest and ability. From the programs planned by UKM management, I can exercise my ability and hopefully improve my skill. For example, Pelatihan Dasar Jurnalistik is one of the UKM Visi’s programs that can help me to learn journalistic, as my interest, and improve my ability in writing.
As the members of UKM come from many different departments, I get a chance to have many friends outside my department. I can learn how to make a good friendship with other friends who mainly come from other department. It is advantageous since I can ask for a various helps from a various people. For example, I can ask for help from my friends coming from Technology Department (who also a member of UKM Visi) when I have a trouble in my laptop or computer.
The other advantage is to get certificates which can be used to be one of the requirements for scholarship proposal. As we know that one of the requirements for being agreed in getting scholarship is the numbers of certificates you have. When you have more numbers of certificates, it means that you have more changes to get the scholarship. The numbers of certificates that you have may also indicate that you are an active student, so that you are proper to get the scholarship.
Though unseen, I feel that my soft skills are improving. Yes, truly I admit that I feel my soft skills are improving significantly. I used not to be able to work in team well because I know that I am an egoist person. However, now I feel that I can work in team well, solve the team problem together, and give a significant contribution to the team. I also used to be stressful quickly when I got many problems. However, now I can be a bit less stressful when I get many problems. So, working together and be strongly defends in a bad situation when I get so many problems are the examples that prove my soft skills are improving.
Thus, involving myself in UKM does not always mean wasting my spare time; instead I get those four advantageous things. They are satisfying and learning, friends, certificates, and soft skills. Those four things will be difficult to be found elsewhere. (I Putu Arik Budiarsana)