Andi Firmansyah comes from a simple family. For 17 years he lived in a rented house in an area called Duri Kosambi, Cengkareng with his mother and his little sibbling. His father passed away six years ago and since then, his mother worked as a masseuse and at a local laundry to fulfill the family needs and to pay for schooling. The latter did not continue on to high school and instead helped earn extra income to ease his mother’s burden.

In school, Andi excelled in his studies and had always received scholarships. Besides focusing on school work, Andi made use of his spare time by becoming a counselor for OSN participants at his school. Currently he is a volunteer teacher at the school for street children. Andi’s academic, organizational and social achievements is outstanding.

Several awards that Andi has received included:

- Third Place National Flag Bearing (Paskibra) Competition, 2007

- Top-100 at the National Science Olympics (Olimpiade Sains Nasional/OSN)

In the field of Physics

- The Organizing Committee for the Monitoring of the National Elections 2009

His experiences as a counselor for OSN participants and as a volunteer teacher at the school for street children have strengthened his will to become a teacher. This led Andi to enroll at The Sampoerna School of Education majoring in Mathematics rather then enrolling to the Department of Aeronautics at ITB, in which he was accepted to through the 2009 national exams (SMPTN).

“I have a strong will to become a teacher because I consider the work as something noble. My other dream is to make my mother proud and happy. I want to make my mother and sister happy. I pledge that I can one day realize their dream of owning a house,” says Andi.

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