Agriculture Minister Motivates USU Students to Achieve Success

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman motivated students at the University of North Sumatra (USU) to prepare positive steps early on, which will become capital for achieving success after graduation. The motivation was delivered during a public lecture before thousands of USU students themed ‘Innovation and Collaboration of the Young Generation to Realise National Food Security and Self-Sufficiency’ at the USU Auditorium in Medan on Wednesday. He shared an inspirational story about his life journey, which was full of rejection and economic hardship. However, these obstacles did not break his spirit; instead, they became a trigger to strive harder. ‘If you want to be successful, you must be ready to be criticised and ready to be insulted. A successful person will face relentless pressure from all sides. No success is achieved easily,’ he said. He reminded students that pressure from within one’s own environment often feels more painful than external pressure, but all of it must be faced with a strong mentality and a never-give-up attitude. On the occasion, he also challenged the generation to participate in driving agribusiness downstreaming and maintaining national food independence amidst the challenges of fluctuating world commodity prices. He emphasised the importance of hard work, high integrity, and transparency, and pledged to immediately resign if any of his staff were proven to have committed acts of corruption. Amran advised students not to cultivate a begging mentality and to always rely on real work to earn a living. According to the Rector, Amran is an inspirational figure who transformed from the grip of poverty into an academic, a successful entrepreneur, and eventually a trusted minister. Amran’s success in accelerating food self-sufficiency has even made him a go-to figure relied upon by the President in every strategic meeting with university rectors.