梁維耀《巧遇》

  “Hard work is a thing, but you need friends. You never know which friend that will bring you luck”.

  It was a bright sunny day in Cambridge when me, @nelanavida, and @aagnansyah were taking a picture. I remember I shout “Mukaku keliatan gak di foto?” then this man bumped into us asking “Kalian dari Indonesia ya?” with a totally non-Indonesian accent.

  Our brief conversation led to an unexpected invitation to enter a restricted area of Cambridge College … like OF COURSE! That place is closed to visitors. Unaware of the man's identity as he cryptically assured us, "You will know who I am later."

  He took us on an “unusual” tour because he literally opened all rooms that were prohibited to everyone even their students. During this tour, we noticed a familiar face in a picture displayed on a wall of fame, we realized that he was Professor Yao Liang, the former President of @caiuscollege, University of Cambridge. A renowned Professor Emeritus in the field of Superconductivity, with research interests in encompassed the electronic properties of semi-superconductors and quantum phase transitions (ngerti gak? aku sih engga ya).

  Curiously, we asked if he had met Stephen Hawking, to which he casually replied, "Yeah, he's my best friend and neighbour. I'll show you his room later." Nangis.

  However, I won't delve into the story of Stephen Hawking here because Professor Liang's own journey deserves an extended account.  

  He graciously invited us to join him for coffee in the Senior Combination Room (SCR), a space exclusively used by Cambridge presidents. As our conversation unfolded, he shared that 60 years ago, he embarked on a voyage from Jakarta to England, armed with only Mandarin, limited Indonesian, and zero English language skills.

  Long story short, through unwavering determination, Prof Liang pursued his undergraduate degree at ICL. Upon completion, he found himself selling ice cream until "luck" and "angels” called friends presented him with an opportunity to pursue PhD at Cambridge. Decades later, who would have thought that a child from “gang kecil” in West Jakarta could become a researcher as great as Stephen Hawking and become President of Cambridge University?

  Amongst all his stories, the phrase that moved me to tears every time was, "You need friends.". I am a very sceptical person with luck, I only believe hard work and determination will bring you everywhere. Yet, upon hearing about "unusual moments" that shaped Professor Liang's life, I am convinced that luck plays a significant role. Just like this luck that bumped into us to meet him.

  Cerita ini kami beri judul "Cocotku membawa berkah", alias kalau aku gak teriak-teriak di jalan pas ngambil foto, gak akan mungkin takdir membawa beliau menghampiri kami.