Michelle Chahyadi's Story

I spent most of my childhood in Indonesia, but one day, while I was spending my time with God, I felt that the Lord was bringing me somewhere else. I prayed about it a long time, and I felt God pointing me toward Hardin-Simmons through websites and people that I knew. I looked at the HSU website, and I loved it. I felt so at peace, and I know God provided for me through that whole decision.

The people are definitely what makes HSU special. They are some of the most generous people I have ever met. As an international student, that means a lot to me because my family is halfway around the world. The people here make me feel at home, and I feel like I have a family here as well. In addition to being an international student, I came as a spring transfer student, at a time when many students have already formed their friendships. However, I quickly found a community. Hardin-Simmons is a place where strangers become friends and friends become family.

HSU has also cultivated my faith through the friends that point me back to Christ. Like it says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” I feel like my friends and I sharpen each other and encourage each other in our relationships with the Lord.

I work in the Global Engagement office, and I love that part of my job is to welcome international students here. I’m also helping to start an international Bible study to reach these students with the love of Christ and help them create the community that I’ve found here. I want to serve them as I’ve been served.

I’m also the events coordinator for the International Student Fellowship. Once a year, we all cook food from our home countries and gather together to share it. We also have an event for the whole campus called Taste of the World where we share food that we love from each of our cultures.

One of my favorite memories from HSU is the Bike Ride across the States with the Leadership Studies Program. We rode our bikes from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. I never thought that I could do something like that, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. After doing that, I feel like nothing is impossible. I am so glad that I joined the Leadership Program, and I am so glad that I listened to God’s call to come to Hardin-Simmons.