Ridzki Samsulhadi is the 2015-2016 recipient of the Off-Campus Community Builder Award from Salad King and Ryerson’s International Student Support
I honestly could not ask for a better timing to receive the Salad King International Student Award for Off-Campus Community Builder. Receiving it in my final semester at Ryerson has made this award very special for me. Professionally, receiving this award helps strengthening my aspiration to be an international social worker capable of improving the condition and well-being of the many still marginalized communities around the world. This award becomes a checkpoint confirming the direction of career I want to pursue upon graduation, to be an international community worker.
To succeed, I believe that we need to understand failures and be willing to learn from them. We need to accept that we are all imperfect beings and failures are a part of lives. At the same time, however, we should not lose ourselves in the process of facing our challenges and failures. One of the biggest lessons any student usually gets in their university career is the ability to think and reflect critically on various aspects of their lives. This critical thinking and reflection, however, quite often could cause students to lose direction in lives. Those who can stay true to themselves are the ones who will be able to redirect their paths correctly. For some people it may take longer to go back to the correct path than others. As long as they keep being themselves and do not stop learning from failures, I believe anyone can succeed in anything. As someone who had once almost lost himself before finally finding the passion in life to be a social worker, this award nicely summarizes the many pain and gain episodes of my undergraduate journey in Canada.
Receiving this award also works as a personal reminder that indeed failures should not be the end and successes should not be taken for granted. This award is a symbol of my perseverance. I would not have received this award if I had given up after failing my award applications in the previous two years. I also likely would not have received this award if I had stopped making efforts to gain more experiences in addition to my study. When I just received the news of winning the award, I immediately thought of everyone who has been in my life supporting me on the many things, both good and bad, that I have gone through. I am dedicating this award to all whom had brought me to this point in life and had made me who I am today. I would like to specifically express sincerest gratitude to my family, my loved ones, my friends, my colleagues and everyone else who has been a part of my life so far. This award is for you.
