?It was fall 1957 when Bana Kartasasmita '62, then a college sophomore and recipient of a Smith-Mundt scholarship to study in the United States, arrived in Wichita, a place he knew about only in the vaguest of ways. He remembers being surprised by the Kansas cold and struck by the friendliness of the people. He was, he says, the first Indonesian to attend the University of Wichita.
Then, the population of international students was not what it is today, although Kartasasmita points out there were some, including one who headed the student government: "A Canadian!" He laughs. What Kartasasmita, who has taught math at the Institute of Technology in Bandung since 1975, remembers most about his time in Wichita is his education — not only the formal one he earned, but also the informal one he received from those around him. "The people of Kansas and their values became very important things," he says. "I cherish to this day the friendships I gained. I am grateful that Wichita raised me. There were hard times and happy times but, in the end, I remember the happy times."
— Jedd Beaudoin '01
