The Story of Maria Khelli, ITB’s Top Bachelor’s Graduate in April 2025: From the World of Design to Engineering
By Angra Eni Saepa - Mahasiswa Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, 2021
Editor M. Naufal Hafizh, S.S.
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id - Maria Khelli, a student from the Informatics Engineering Study Program at ITB’s School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, emerged as a top graduate with the highest GPA at the April 2025 ITB graduation ceremony, held at Sasana Budaya Ganesa (Sabuga), Friday-Saturday (25-26/4/2025). Khelli graduated from ITB with cum laude honors and achieved a GPA of 3.94 out of 4.00.
From Aspiring Artist to Engineering Ace
At first, Khelli aspired to enter ITB’s Faculty of Art and Design due to her achievements in poster design at the FLS2N competition. However, after discussing with her parents, she decided to shift her path to engineering. Her choice landed on ITB’s School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, a decision made just weeks before the national university entrance exam (SNBT).
During her time in college, Khelli proved that her background in design didn’t hold her back in the engineering field. She brought pride to ITB by winning the 2023 GemasTIK competition in the Data Mining category and securing runner-up in the GarudaHacks Hackathon.
Active Both On and Off Campus
Beyond her academic success, this Palembang native was also actively involved in various campus activities. She served as a community leader in Data Science, a bootcamp mentor, and a career mentor for data science/machine learning-related topics at the Informatics Engineering Student Association. In addition, she also actively participated in multiple off-campus projects, including open-source projects from Google Summer of Code and SEAcrowd, internships at Garena Indonesia, Ninja Van, and tiket.com, and an exchange program at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
“Whether I Can or Can Not, What Matters is I Must!”
When asked about the secret to maintaining a high GPA, Khelli emphasized the importance of discipline and ambition. “Whether I can or can’t, what matters is I must be able to!” she said. She admitted that at the start of college, she felt behind compared to peers with Olympiad backgrounds. “I came from the world of design, so I knew I had to work harder,” she added.
According to her, motivation alone would not be sufficient to achieve great results. Instead, she relied more on consistent discipline and a strong will to grow. As a result, she was able to maintain her GPA and win several competitions.
Her journey to complete her thesis was equally challenging. It took 1.5 years to complete due to her overseas exchange program and internship schedule, and she often had to squeeze in time during her internships to chip away at her thesis. Despite these hurdles, the support of her academic advisor helped her successfully complete her final project.
After graduating from ITB, Khelli plans to pursue a Master’s degree and work abroad. She advises ITB students to make the most of their network of friends and alumni. “Be someone who’s always curious and willing to learn from anyone. You’ll never know what opportunities will open up if you don’t start asking,” she said.
Reporter: Angra Eni Saepa (Urban and Regional Planning, 2021)
Translator: Nadya Fini Nabila (Management, 2023)
