Filling a Need Back Home

January 2025

Jessika Santoso, a student from Indonesia, has always had a sense of what she wanted to do with her life, including attend BYU–Hawaii. Now studying TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) at the university, Jessika is on a path to get her degree and then return home, where she hopes to become a translator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Indonesia offices.

Growing up, Jessika and her two sisters, Aniela and Kenisha, often heard from their father about the value of education. “Our goal was always to go to BYU–Hawaii,” says Jessika. “With our father’s help, each of us began preparing ourselves back in high school so that when the time came, we could apply and hopefully get in.”

Jessika’s father was not able to finish his college degree and so he wanted to help his daughters pursue higher education and have opportunities he never had.

“The first time I applied, I was rejected,” says Jessika. “But a few weeks later, I got another letter saying I was accepted.” Curious about the change in her admissions status, Jessika talked to Aniela, who was attending BYU–Hawaii at the time. Jessika recalls, “When I mentioned I had been accepted, my sister said, ‘That’s funny. I just participated in BYU–Hawaii’s Giving Day, and I did not realize that the money could go to a student like you and that it could potentially let you into college here.’”

Though the funds raised at BYU–Hawaii’s Giving Day may not have directly impacted Jessika’s receiving an acceptance letter, she felt the spirit of what Giving Day could do. Jessika and Aniela did not believe it was a coincidence that one sister’s actions connected to something so positive for the other.

“I always loved doing charity work, but it wasn’t until after my mission in Jakarta, Indonesia, that I had a clear direction on what I should do,” says Jessika. “I chose TESOL because I want to become a translator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Indonesia. Pursuing TESOL professionally is in high demand in Indonesia, but not many people go into it.”

Once Jessika could see where she wanted to go with her degree, she worked tirelessly to make her vision a reality. “I’ve tried to live by the saying ‘If you want to go somewhere, just find people who have already been there,’” she says. “BYU–Hawaii gives me what I need for my education—between professors who are compassionate and the spiritual opportunities to counsel with the Lord in my decisions.”

During her time at BYU–Hawaii, she developed her skills under the IWORK program, through which she worked as a tutor in the Reading and Writing Lab and helped domestic and international students with their assignments. Most recently, she worked as a research assistant translating interviews and forging connections with the Church’s offices in Indonesia.

“Everything I’m learning, everything I’m doing, is intertwined and is helping me learn what I need to know for my career,” says Jessika. “I don’t think I would get this same experience and connection with others if I had attended school somewhere else.”

Both of her sisters are now graduates of BYU–Hawaii, with one back home in Indonesia and the other planning to return soon. Jessika is well on her way to completing her degree and joining them.

Thanks to donor-supported programs like IWORK, Jessika feels prepared to share what she has learned with her community back home. “What donors are doing is changing someone’s life,” she says. “You are giving others hope, and this is what drives people to keep going and to change their future. This is what donors have done for me.”