UNAIR NEWS “ Everyone had had their own life™s journey. No one has the same journey. Some has it easy and pleasant. Some has it full of ups-and-downs. Some has achieved success after a long struggle from the bottom.
Prof. Dr. H. Mohammad Nasih, MT., SE., Ak, CMA., the current rector of 51¶¯Âþ, has had his own life™s journey. He was the last child with five siblings of a father who taught people to read the Qur™an, the late Abdul Wahab, and a mother, Djuwariah. Since childhood, he has lived in a devoted Islamic community and his life could not be separated from mosques. He was a young mosque activist during childhood, even at college he was also UKM-KI activist who used the mosque as a home base. He got his first work when he was in the mosque. He even met his fateful life™s partner in a mosque.
œFor me, a mosque is a peaceful place, a place of learning, a study and a place for organization activity, and for other things, he said during interview with WARTA UNAIR in his office room.
His career as a teacher until he became who he is now was all started from a mosque. He got information of lecturing staff opening in UNAIR Faculty of Economy, his alma mater. After several tests, he was accepted. After a while he continued his study to master and doctoral program, and build his career until finally he succeeded in becoming 13th rector of UNAIR.
Happy Being Around the Mosque
He lived with his parents in his hometown, Gresik, until he finished elementary school. Little Moh. Nasih after that had to live far from his parents. His parents was going to send him to Gontor Islamic boarding school, but he was sent to live with his brother instead and went to school in a public junior high school in Babat, Lamongan. He helped his brother selling medicine during his stay there.
At that time, we hoped that we could go to school in the morning and go to Langitan (Islamic boarding house) in the afternoon. But it wasn™t possible so I went there during the holy month only instead of learning there full time, he said.
After he finished junior high school, he went to Development Preparation High School (SMPP) in Lamongan which is now known as SMAN 2 Lamongan. As his school far from his house, he lived in a boarding house. Fortunately, his boarding house was near a mosque and an Islamic school, so he could stay longer in a mosque instead of in his boarding house. Similar to his junior high school, in the morning he went to school and stayed in the mosque in the afternoon to learn more about Islam. He admitted that he was used to full day school. The place he used to learn and stay after school now is PP Darul Ma™arif Lamongan.
Graduated from senior high school in 1985, he moved to Surabaya to go to college. He applied to college via SBM-PTN in four different majors, UNAIR Accounting, UNAIR Medicine, ITS Civil Engineering and UNEJ Management.
œI was destined to go to UNAIR Accounting, said Pak Nasih.
His Career Boost
First time he arrived in UNAIR, he went to the mosque as it was his habit. He was an activist in UKKI (UKMKI now) and he was quite active in the organization. He conducted studies, learned from textbooks, and improved his journalism skill and send articles to newspapers.
His first article was published in Suara Indonesia (SI), a daily newspaper in Malang and some others in some mass media. Rp 50,000 for an article was quite rewarding, enough to treat friends, he said. He was quite proud of himself as his articles published in mass media, he applied for a job as a journalist in Harian Prioritas after graduated from his bachelor degree, but he was not accepted. Then he worked as a consultant in a company, but as he had a different opinion with his superior, he quit the job. He calmed himself down in a mosque, his favorite place. In UNAIR mosque he had the opportunity to work as a civil servant in UNAIR as he passed the test in 1992.
œA year after he got a job, he married Triyani Purnamawati, a fellow activist in UKKI UNAIR. But it wasn’t only me, there were many who met their fateful partners there,” said ±Ê²¹°ìÌýNasih giggling.
Started a family with Triyani Purnamawati, an alumnus of UNAIR Faculty of Psychology, Prof. Moh Nasih has two sons, Muhammad Fata Fatihuddin (studying at FK UNAIR) and Muhammad Nathiq Ulman (SMAN 2 Surabaya).
After being a lecturer at FEB for five years, he got a master program scholarship on Industrial Technology inInstitut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). After he finished with his master degree, he wanted to have his doctoral degree in ITB, but as he had to wait quite a while for the promoter who was going to supervise him, he decided to get back to Surabaya and had his doctoral degree here at UNAIR.
His career boosted as he was trusted to be UNAIR Director of Finance, then he was named as Vice Rector II UNAIR in 2010 and conferred as a professor on November 29, 2014.
It is my destiny. If I had gone to Islamic boarding house (pondok), I might have worked in Department of Religious Affairs (Depag) like my brothers. If had been accepted as a journalist, the story would have been different too. So, insya Allah, I was lost in the right place,” said Prof. Moh Nasih while giggling during interview. (*)
Author: WARTA UNAIR TEAM
Editor: Bambang Bes
