Juni Hezi Romansyah

"I was born in Indonesia, Aceh, during the conflict. Since early childhood, I had to deal with the burning flames, bombs, displacement, loss of families, friends and relatives due to the conflict. In 2004, a giant tidal wave of Indian ocean, tsunami, had “solved” the conflict with the cost of almost 250,000 lives and millions of losses (homes, schools, jobs, friends, and loved ones). I was so scared at that time.

The tsunami almost took my hope away until million hands, of people, around the world came to give us the strength to survive and gave us confidence to keep believing in our dreams.

I started my studies in Adelaide in 2017 as an Australia Awards sponsored student. My biggest challenge was the fact that my masters course was not 'in line' with my bachelor degree. I was an engineer studying Business. So, I had to spend extra time reading books, watching YouTube videos and other online resources to gain some fundamental understandings of the topics. The start was tough, but at the end of the day my hard work has paid off. I received Study Adelaide’s 'highly commended' award for international students in the academic excellence category in 2018.

My life experience is an example of “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” The early hardships and adversities are just different forms of love that will, in turn, shape me to become a better, a more positive, and a more confident individual. I am so excited to face the future.