Ariel Velasco Tatuil said his father, a BYU–Hawaii alumnus, set an example for him of returning home after graduation to serve the Indonesian people. Although his father had an opportunity to work in the United States, he said he decided to return to his homeland to serve his family and the Church.
Some of his father’s jobs after graduation included managing an English tutoring company and translating for the Church. Tatuil said with four other people, he also helped revise the Book of Mormon in Indonesian.
In addition, he said his parents taught him about the importance of education. “Indonesia is a developing country. … Some of the people back in Indonesia don’t have a chance to have an education because they’re living in poverty. I believe education is the medicine to fight poverty. That’s what my parents taught me, and I also stand by that statement. That’s why I’m also very serious about my education,” Tatuil shared.
Tatuil’s friend, Andino Bima Mahreza, a senior from Indonesia majoring in hospitality and tourism management, said Tatuil is an example to him of dedication.
“If he has goals in mind, he will try his best to do it. He is such a hard worker, dreamer and believer.”
Serving his home country
Tatuil, a senior from Jakarta, Indonesia, majoring in business management, said BYUH’s motto, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve,” has touched his heart because it alludes to his goal of going back to Indonesia to build the kingdom of God there.
“I’m going to learn here, and then I will go back to Indonesia and help my family first and then everyone.”
He said he thinks one of the best ways to serve the people in his homeland is by faithfully fulfilling his Church callings.
He said he wants to open a culinary business because he is inspired by the Polynesian food in Hawaii. He would like to introduce food such as ahi, poke, poi and umu pork to Indonesia.
Tatuil said he values taking care of himself and goes to the gym to work on his physical and mental health so he is able to help others. Nowadays, he said people focus so much on making money they disregard their mental and physical well-being. He believes there will come a time when his family will need help with something that requires physical strength, so he wants to be prepared.
Ibrahim Syifa Raharjo, a junior from Indonesia majoring in business management with an emphasis in finance, said, “Ariel is a fun person. … He loves to play soccer, and he loves to go to the gym.” In fact, he said Tatuil’s frequent gym-going inspired him to do the same.Pineapple smoothies
Tatuil said he worked as a pineapple seller at the Polynesian Cultural Center in 2017 and was promoted to team lead in 2018. He managed eight to 12 students until the center closed because of the pandemic.
He said he was also promoted to assistant risk manager, where he reported on the number of sales and profit generated so he and his bosses could set goals to improve performance.
This work was also important to analyze sales and predict how many people would visit the PCC so they could forecast how many pineapple smoothies should be prepared.
Working for PCC concessions, he said, helped him gain more experience in his business management major. As an assistant risk manager, he said he helped control the inventory of the department by visiting the different shops and counting their inventories.
Mahreza said Tatuil’s dedication led him to become a student lead at his job in concessions and become one of the vice presidents of the Indonesian Club.
Hidden talents
Dhika Naraputraka, a BYUH alumnus from Indonesia and childhood friend of Tatuil, said Tatuil consistently has a goal he wants to achieve.
“For example, he always goes to the gym and is very committed every day.” Not only does he influence his friends positively, but Raharjo said Tatuil is also generous because he shares his food with him and their other roommates. “He always shares what he has with us.”
Raharjo said what he admires most about Tatuil is his persistence and determination. When he wants to achieve something, he puts forth effort until he achieves it, he said. In fact, he said Tatuil has never skipped a day of going to the gym.
Mahreza shared, “Ariel is such a great person. He might seem so quiet, but he has so many things in mind. I have known him since we were in Primary, and I never had a bad experience with him. We never fight, argue or even disagree because he is such an easy-going person.”
He said Tatuil is also very talented and said he sings, plays guitar and the piano. He is also knowledgeable about business, math and decision making, he added. However, because he is shy, Mahreza said people do not know about these talents.
His favorite memory of Tatuil, Mahreza shared, is the first time he ever heard him sing and play guitar in public at their bishop’s house. Mahreza said he found this out after three years of being his roommate.
Never giving up
Tatuil said he dreamed of attending BYUH, but it took him three times to pass the Michigan Test, a required English test for international students. On his third try, he said he scored a 75, which was the passing score.
He said he believes one of the blessings he received for serving a full-time mission in the Indonesia Jakarta Mission was finally being able to pass the test and be admitted to BYUH.
He decided to attend school in Laie a long time ago because of the IWORK Program, a scholarship for international students. Another reason is BYUH is a Church institution, so he said he feels safe being surrounded by Church members. He said people he met, such as his bishop in the YSA ward and his co-workers, were a good influence on him.
The next step for him is graduate school in Indonesia to get his MBA degree, but he will need to take some examinations before being admitted to the program. He said he is looking forward to going home but knows he will miss the friends he met at BYUH and PCC.