Mr. H. Abu Ubaidah Ali, M. A.
Master of Arts in Linguistics Class of 1958
Minor in Teaching of English as Second Language
H. Abu Ubaidah Ali, M.A.
This month we had the chance to meet Mr. Ali, or we often call him by his rst name, Mr. Abu. Graduating with Master of Arts degree in 1958 makes him one of the most senior members of our foundation.
Mr. Abu was born in Mentok in 1928, which lies in the western tip of Bangka island.
This town later became the place of exile for Ir. Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta in 1949. Throughout his childhood, Mr. Abu witnessed numerous historical events such as the Japanese attacking the Dutch in Indonesia in 1942, which forced his family to evacuate to Bengkulu.
The 1940s was a tough era for Indonesia and for Mr. Abu himself. He experienced food scarcity at the end of 1944 and even had seven years without any schooling until he reached 21. Thanks to his full determination and efforts, Mr. Abu finally graduated from Junior High School with top score and was sent to SGA, the Senior High School for teachers training. Driven by his determination for better life, he graduated from SGA with a top score and managed
to secure a scholarship at a government college funded by the Ford Foundation, which he studied to become an English teacher. His hard work paid o when he got selected to continue his study at Indiana University, funded by the Ford Foundation.
Mr. Abu is the second from the left in the front row.
The 1956 was the year when Mr. Abu had his first experience of being away from his home country to study at Indiana University in Bloomington. During this time, he learned to adapt to new culture and excel in his study at the same time. Again, resulting from his hard work, in 1958 he graduated from Indiana University with Master of Arts in Linguistics and minoring in Teaching of English as a Second Language. It was during the Commencement Day that he had the chance to pose together for a photograph with Indiana University President Herman B. Wells and Indiana Governor Harold W. Handley. This photo later was published in the IU International Alumni Newsletter in 2001 in memory of the late Herman B. Wells.
During the Commencement day in 1958, Mr. Abu Posed together for a photograph with indiana University President Herman B. Wells and the Indiana Governor Harold W. Handley.
Tell us about your experience in the US, particularly related to your study at Indiana University
I found that my study at IU went very smoothly. I had a number of good friends from many different backgrounds and found them very supportive to international students like me. During my college years, I became a member of Metropolitan Club, which gave its members the opportunity to spend a holiday with an American family. This was a great eye-opener for me to understand the American culture from a different perspective.
Why did you choose to learn about Linguistics at Indiana University?
I had to because of my background of study in Indonesia, which was Linguistics. When I first came to IU, I wanted to study Literature but later changed to Linguistics. In 1957, I was sent to Ann Arbor, Michigan to study my minor in Teaching of English as a Second Language.
We would like to hear your advice for future IU graduates
Never stop learning and never stop sharing your knowledge. I had the chance to meet Ir. Soekarno during his exile in Mentok and he reminded all of us there to never stop learning. That spirit kept me going all these years. Secondly, as Indiana University graduates, never hesitate to share your knowledge. Remember that only a handful of select individuals had the privilege of overseas study.
As you know, we now have the Yayasan Alumni Indiana University Indonesia (Indonesian Indiana University Alumni Foundation). Tell us your hopes for this foundation.
As a foundation, we must be able to empower Indonesian young generation to have better education. I believe better education is very crucial for better Indonesia, which in turn enables Indonesians to compete with the rest of the world.
Can you share with a funny moment during your study at Indiana University?
I learned a funny trick during picture taking to count with my mouth from one, two, three and so on right before the shot. This trick was actually believed to help the subject relax his or her facial muscles and to avoid looking nervous in photographs.