“I chose to double major in communication as well as health, society and policy because of my personal experience. Growing up, I was fortunate to have access to health care and education, but I realized not everyone has the same opportunities as me. That realization shaped my passion to serve my community back home in Indonesia and advocate for better access to those basic rights.

My communication emphasis is strategic communication. I wanted to learn how to make campaigns, do outreach and effectively engage with community members and policymakers.

Becoming who I wanted to be took time. When I first came to Utah, I felt insecure, lonely and overwhelmed. It took me a while to open up and truly start to enjoy my experience. Then I became an orientation leader and that moment changed everything. It helped me find friends. It helped me find my passion, working with students. I love working in a higher education setting. That moment really made me feel like, ‘Oh, I belong here.’

That same semester, I interned with Women of the World as their English program intern, conducting beginning English classes for immigrant women starting new lives in the U.S. I thought I would be teaching them, but they also taught me with their experiences. Hearing their stories really humbled me.

This experience helped me grow in ways I didn’t expect. Growing up, I was a really shy person. If I had to go to the hospital or anywhere, I always told my mom, ‘Please speak for me.’ But now I have to speak with everybody. I am more confident, more independent and I know what I really want. I am loving it.

I’m not just learning academically. I’ve grown personally and professionally, with the support of a lot of great resources at the University of Utah: career coaches, student success coaches and academic advisors. And I just want to say, ‘Thank you, University of Utah.’ This experience has been really, really, really wonderful.”

— RG Simbiak, Class of 2026, B.S. in Health, Society, and Policy, B.A. in Communication, College of Social and Behavioral Science and College of Humanities, from Papua, Indonesia