Semarang, 29 August 2025 – The Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) held a series of IRUD Alumni Series events featuring Gracia Bérn Tobing, who currently works as a news anchor for SCTV, on Friday (8/29). The event, which was held in the FISIP Theatre Room at 13:00, was attended by lecturers from the Department of International Relations and students. In this program, the guest speaker, a 2013 UNDIP alumnus, shared her experiences as a news anchor for the Liputan 6 program on SCTV and offered tips on entering the workforce.

During the main session of the event, Gracia Bérn Tobing, commonly known as Kak Cia, shared that she had undergone a gradual career progression that led her to her current position. She is an alumnus of the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Diponegoro, where she studied for seven years before graduating in 2020. For her, the relatively lengthy period of her studies provided her with the opportunity to explore herself and delve into her professional interests. After graduating, she shared her work experience at the TVRI North Sumatra television station, which later led her to participate in the Liputan 6 Next Presenter competition, ultimately allowing her to join SCTV. ‘After graduating from Universitas Diponegoro, you must have resilience, which can be trained during your studies,’ she added to the participants.

Kak Cia also highlighted how students often have a mentality of thinking that they are not capable of adapting to the world of work, which causes them to tend to have high insecurity and not experience personal development. In her observation of this phenomenon, she advised students to take the time to explore their potential skills and develop them into career specialisations that will be attractive in the future workplace. ‘If you know your potential that can be developed, you will automatically become more confident,’ she said.

Considering her track record as an alumnus of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Diponegoro, she acknowledges that students often face dilemmas in determining their career choices due to the broad scope of International Relations studies. However, she does not see this as an obstacle but rather as a tool for analysing the challenges of each job from an International Relations perspective that revolves around research activities. ‘Research is conducted to deepen and enrich our knowledge of an event or phenomenon so that we can see it in a broader context and help us make decisions,’ she said.

In closing, she advised students to be adaptable so that they can position themselves in a challenging work environment. ‘A new graduate must know their abilities and potential in line with the values of resilience, adaptability, and competitiveness,’ she said. Through the IRUD Alumni Series programme, the Department of International Relations at FISIP Universitas Diponegoro aims to continue building relationships with its alumni network, sharing academic and career experiences with students who are still pursuing their studies.