An inspiring story comes from Otto Wahyudi, a visually-impaired young man from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, who successfully passed the 2025 National-Based Test Selection (SNBT) at UNY.

He was admitted to the Bachelor’s programme in Special Needs Education (PLB) at the Faculty of Education at UNY, scoring 606 on the test. Otto comes from a modest family. His father, Herison, works as a farm labourer and his mother, Reni Oktaviani, is a homemaker and the main supporter of his education. Despite economic constraints and his physical impairment, Otto’s strong spirit never diminished.

More gratifying, Otto was awarded the “Kartu Indonesia Pintar Kuliah” (KIPK) scholarship, which will fully support his tertiary education journey at UNY. He chose the Special Education Programme at UNY because, after researching online and consulting with other visually-impaired persons in Bukittinggi, he found that UNY’s programme was superior among similar ones at other public universities. Additionally, adhering to the Minangkabau culture of migrating (“merantau”), he decided to study in Yogyakarta.

For his family, the news was received with deep emotion and pride. His father admitted he never imagined his son could be accepted into one of Yogyakarta’s prominent universities. His mother said she supported his ambition from class 11 and was grateful that Otto received the scholarship.

Otto’s journey proves that with strong determination, support, and opportunity, physical limitations can be overcome and higher education is truly accessible to everyone.