Beedie undergraduate parlays student engagement into national television role

BBA graduate Edwin Hendrawan has a unique claim to fame amongst this year’s crop of SFU graduates: he has been the host of a national television show.

Hendrawan’s big break came as a result of his role as President of the SFU Indonesian Association.

Through this he was approached to act as tour guide for the producers of an Indonesian TV show visiting Vancouver.

Hendrawan made such an impression that the producers offered him the chance to host the show, which introduced Vancouver to an Indonesian audience.

“They interviewed me on the spot in front of the camera to see how I would handle the pressure of being on TV,” says Hendrawan.

“The experience was very different to my previous public speaking roles – I had to do a lot of retakes initially.”

After impressing in his trial run, Hendrawan earned a six-episode stint as host of the show, where he showcased some of Vancouver’s most recognizable spots to a young audience, including Grouse Mountain, Chinatown, and Capilano Suspension Bridge.

“The show was well-received in Indonesia with high ratings, and was a lot of fun to work on – it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience,” he says.

Away from the cameras, Hendrawan was the epitome of an engaged SFU student.

Through Enactus SFU, he served as Project Manager for the Surrey Urban Mission Society, a non-profit organization that helps the homeless find shelter and employment, for which his team raised $24,000 in just one event.

He also completed an eight-month co-op term with the City of Edmonton, working on an ambitious project called ‘Winter City’ that aims to establish Edmonton as the greatest winter city in the world by 2020.

“I only had one chance at my undergraduate experience, and SFU’s Beedie School of Business allowed me to make the most of it,” he says.

Learn more about undergraduate opportunities at the Beedie School of Business at beedie.sfu.ca/bba/experience-beedie