Jakarta native Andini Effendi says she made up her mind to be a journalist while in high school.
“I watched (anchor) Paula Zahn on CNN and right then I knew,” she says.
Effendi majored in journalism at Universitas Pelita Harapan, and took advanced courses at New York University.
Her first job was at Global TV in Jakarta as a news reporter/anchor. After a short stay at ANTV, she joined Metro TV in 2007 as a reporter. Her most memorable assignments include covering the 2008 Climate Change Conference in Bali and the death of former Indonesian president Soeharto.
During her university years, she was a production intern at Metro TV, “carrying cables, booking guests and handling wardrobe for presenters. And I vowed to make it back as an anchor.
“Someday I would like to work for an international news organization. Doing ‘Indonesia Now’ is great training for that goal.”
Effendi is a watersports lover, an admitted “clean freak,” and is taking Indonesian cooking lessons.