UNY has again made history by admitting a prospective student whose age is far younger than the average. Fairuz Khalishah Sastaviana succeeded in passing the selection and was declared the youngest student at UNY for the 2025/2026 academic year, at the very young age of 16 years and 3 months.

Known affectionately as Fairuz, she was admitted into the Bachelor’s programme in English Language Education, Faculty of Languages, Arts and Culture, UNY through the Independent Selection CBT (Computer Based Test).

When contacted, Fairuz expressed her gratitude and emotion about this achievement. “I am very grateful and did not expect to be accepted at UNY, moreover knowing that I became the youngest. This has been my dream for a long time — to study in the English Language Education programme, and UNY is my choice,” she said with enthusiasm.

Her achievement at such a young age did not happen by chance. She is a graduate of an accelerated learning programme (accelerated track) during her time at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 1 Yogyakarta. The daughter of Agus Suprapto and Ety Kustarini, she completed her Madrasah Aliyah in just two years, whereas regular students typically require three years.

Born in Makassar on 8 April 2009, Fairuz also shared that she entered kindergarten at age 4 and followed a non-typical path in primary school alongside moves following her parents’ assignments across Ambon and East Kalimantan.

Living in Danurejan Tegalpanggung, Yogyakarta, she hopes to complete her studies at UNY quickly and continue to postgraduate studies (Master’s). Fairuz also revealed her aspiration to be active in student organisations (BEM) continuing her extracurricular activities from Madrasah Aliyah such as Youth Red Cross and Saman dance.

Meanwhile, the Vice‐Rector for Academic Affairs at UNY, Prof. Nur Hidayanto Pancoro Setyo Putro, expressed high appreciation for Fairuz’s achievement. “We warmly welcome Sister Fairuz Khalishah Sastaviana as part of the big family of UNY. This is concrete proof that age is not a barrier to achieving excellent academic performance.”

Fairuz’s story becomes evidence that with hard work, focus, and support from the surrounding environment, Indonesia’s youth can carve out brilliant achievements. Her success is expected to motivate other students to remain enthusiastic in acquiring knowledge and reaching their dreams as high as possible, showing that brilliant achievement is the fruit of determination that transcends age limits.