At the beginning of 2020, a number of Student Association (HIMA) administrators were officially inaugurated by the Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Padjadajar University, Dr. Dadang Rahmat Hidayat, S.Sos., S.H., M.Sc. Gilang Dwi Prasetiyo, commonly known as Gilang or Masgil, was elected to lead the 2020 Nareswara Cabinet Public Relations HIMA. In the 3rd (three) month of Nareswara’s administration, the Corona Virus Pandemic hit Indonesia and almost all over the world. This has an impact not only on teaching and learning activities but also student activities.
“It feels like riding a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs,” said Gilang when asked how he felt when he led Public Relations Hima in the Pandemic Era. Gilang said that the adventure in early 2020 started with a sense of enthusiasm and joy because it was felt that this was the year we had been waiting for, however, it had faltered due to the emergence of Covid-19. Various plans that had been carried out by the Nareswara cabinet had to be overhauled, because events that were originally planned to be held face-to-face now had to be carried out online/virtually.
The condition of the motivation and morale of the association’s board members continues to decline, Gilang, took swift action through communication and planning in the face of the ongoing crisis. Gilang led the re-planning and research for the relevant public for Hima Humas in order to re-stabilize the condition of the organization. The key is external and internal communication.
Gilang and the management of the Nareswara Cabinet did their best in a short time, prioritizing a sense of kinship and affection between members, touching the hearts of the Hima Humas family. The hope is that it can bring back smiles, love, and the spirit of organization for all members of the Hima Humas family.
Gilang’s maturity in overcoming the crisis experienced by Hima Humas during the pandemic, he gained from various organizational experiences inside and outside the campus. Since studying at the Public Relations Study Program in 2017, Gilang has had several internship experiences in the world of work and in organizations. Memorable internship experiences include being a Business Operations Intern at Tokopedia, Business Development Intern at Shopee, and Account Executive Intern at VMLY&R. Gilang’s organizational experience includes being a Vice Project Officer at PEF 2019, Project Officer PRO 2019, TEDxUnpad, BEM Fikom Unpad, KMF, AYIC. Outside the campus, Gilang is also active in various events such as the Java Jazz Festival, Sherina’s Adventure Musical, NCSOD, Bangun Citra, and Kawan Bhinneka.
Apart from being active in organizations, Mas Gilang has also won several awards in competitions and scholarships. Together with Aulia Fathy (Humas 2017) and Amira Negoro (Mankom 2017) won 3rd place in the Branding Competition, BRexplor x Blue Band, organized by Prasetiya Mulya University in collaboration with Upfield. With the same team, Gilang won 2nd place in the PR Campaign Competition, PRvention on PRspective 3.0, which was organized by Hima Humas Fikom Unpad. Gilang also won the Excellence Scholarship from Bank Indonesia, for 4 semesters.
Through his experience in organizing and competing, Gilang believes that the Nareswara cabinet is capable of becoming a prototype cabinet in carrying out various ‘crazy’ plans so that the continuation of the cabinet afterwards knows previous evaluations and the best plan options in carrying out an event in the midst of a crisis. This adventure led Gilang to study and discover that there are 5 (five) aspects that need to be focused on in leading an organization in the pandemic era: (1) Empowering team networks in organizing to respond to crises, (2) Implementing the values of ‘deliberate calm’ and ‘deliberate calm’. confidence accompanied by an awareness of reality’, (3) Making decisions in the midst of uncertainty: pausing to assess and anticipate, then act, (4) Demonstrating empathy: Addressing human tragedies as the first priority, (5) Communicating effectively: maintaining transparency and provide regular updates.[1]
The efforts of Gilang and his staff in the Nareswara Cabinet yielded no results. In the same year, with the division of 2 (two) periods between the leadership of Gilang for the first 6 months and Yunadian for the second 6 months, Hima Humas received satisfactory achievements. Hima Humas won (1) Most Innovative Social Media HIMA at Unpad Awards, (2) Entered into the Top 5 Nominations for Most Educative HIMA in Academic Performance at Unpad Awards, (3) Best Social Media HIMA at Fikom Awards, (4) Most Outstanding HIMA in Academic Performance at the Fikom Awards, (5) Best Overall HIMA at the Fikom Awards. According to Gilang, this can be achieved, of course, thanks to the hard work of all the management of the Nareswara Cabinet and the Agnimaya Cabinet and members of the Hima Humas family themselves. What leaders need during a crisis is not a predetermined response plan, but an attitude and mindset that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday’s developments and help them look ahead.
