Deisha Tamar, Steffina Yuli and Windy Setiadi are separated by different upbringings and interests.

Blessed with a roving eye for pop culture and fashion, Deisha has turned her talents to a career as a print media reporter in newspapers and magazines. Bubbly and outgoing Steffina was raised primarily in Singapore and possesses what some may consider a paradoxical love of both theater and business studies.

Windy, meanwhile, is an unpretentious product of big city life – whether it is Jakarta or New York City – who is driven by an unflinching passion for the arts.

But they are united by a couple of important things. For one, they are members of the bold younger generation of urban Indonesians who consider themselves equals with their global peers. They display openness to the world without relinquishing their national identity.

And they are also three of a kind in choosing to study in the US, albeit on different sides of the North American continent.

Deisha, currently a journalism student at Everett Community College in the state of Washington, was one of the 7,131 Indonesians pursuing college studies in the US last year.

“The US has always been my dream country to live or study, and now I’m here pursuing both dreams,” said the recipient of a scholarship from US State Department and AMINEF and a former intern at this publication.

She said her course load at the college was actually less demanding than her experience at a private university in Jakarta, because “in Indonesia, it’s all about quantity, how many subjects or credits you take. But here it’s more about the quality, and how well you understand the subject”.

There have been some outstanding experiences over the past 10 months, she said, from traveling to almost 10 different States and also falling in love. Not so pleasant adjustments have involved the weather after Indonesia’s tropical climes – “being in the cold and gloomy weather for almost eight months can get really super depressing”.

Her best piece of advice to Indonesians going to study in the US? Be open minded.

“Since I am on a scholarship program that includes other countries from around the world, you meet a lot of people from different backgrounds and cultures with their unique way of thinking. Even American people themselves come in different shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. So don’t be offended if someone has never heard of Indonesia, it means it’s your opportunity to tell them about our lovely country.”

Creatively minded

Steffina, 20, says her goals in going abroad were to be more independent and get the best education possible in her interests of business, finance, media and theater.

“The US is definitely a frontrunner when it comes to creative industries like media and business. It’s also one of the few places that offer the liberal arts program where I could study a wide array of subjects which cater to a wide array of interests,” she said.

“I’ve always believed that to be the best, you have to learn from the best – so off to the US I went …”

After recently completing her freshman year at Yale University, Steffina said she has made the most of the opportunities on the Ivy League campus. That includes producing a full-fledged musical, a seminar with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian John Lewis Gaddis and visiting Goldman Sachs’ headquarters in New York City for a leadership training program.

“All of these highlights, together with the great times I’ve had with friends – going for school dances, eating noodles at 2 a.m. the night before a midterm or just hanging out and chatting – create a unique experience that I couldn’t have had anywhere else.”

Motivated to succeed

Windy Setiadi returned to Jakarta in August 2011 after pursuing music studies in the US, first at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and then post-graduate studies in musical technology at New York University.

In fact, it was in the US that her eyes – and ears – were opened to the beauty of Indonesian traditional music when she joined a gamelan group.

“It was a very useful experience for me, and one that I would recommend,” she said. “Especially because of the environment of study and the work ethic and professionalism. You only needed to obey the rules and regulations a bit more.”

US universities take 15 of the top 20 places of the world’s best universities. Windy, who is gaining a name for herself as a music arranger back home, said she was deeply influenced by the esprit de corps of the academic community.

“I became even more independent, too, because there were more motivating people and competitors,” Windy said, adding that her American education experience, and the understanding of what it will bring to the table among potential employers, has made it easier to get jobs and gigs back home.

“My advice to Indonesians going to study in the US is to do your best and also never forget your own culture. It’s the only chance to promote Indonesia, from my experience.”

Smoother sailing

Indonesia ranked 18th for the number of foreign students in the US in 2012. It was an almost 1 percent increase from 2011’s figure, but the nation still ranks behind several of its neighbors in the region, including Vietnam (at 8th, with more than 15,500 students) and Thailand (17th, with 7,626 students).

The potential for Indonesia, with its massive population of 260 million and a growing middle class, is enormous. The US government is also smoothening the process for Indonesians to pursue their education dreams.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel has stated that, “promoting education is the number one priority for the U.S. Embassy Jakarta”.

Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Kristen F. Bauer told the recent American Education Expert Seminar, hosted by INTI College Indonesia, that a F1 category student visa for Indonesian students should now take only three working days to process.

INTI College Indonesia has also launched its American Center for Education (ACE). Its American University Program (AUP) allows students to pursue their first two years of tertiary education in Indonesia before completing their studies for a degree in the United States. This gives students considerable savings on the cost of a four-year American degree

Deisha is about to leave the US to take up an editorial position in Bali. But the US has left a lasting impression.

“In the future, I still hope to move to the US and build my life here for good, who knows maybe I will have my own family here someday. Don’t get me wrong – I love Indonesia and I can see how ‘colorful’ my country is in terms of the people and culture,” she said.

“But I think I’m pretty enchanted by how organized things here are and that everything has its own rule or system.”

Jumping at the opportunity: <)