Photo By Ayumi Davis | Devina Hafkemeyer serves as the executive assistant to the chief of staff at U.S. Army...... read more read more
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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Sundays, while today still focused on church and family, looked very different for young Devina Hafkemeyer growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, Hafkemeyer and her family would make their way to her maternal grandparents’ house after church. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, her twin sister, and Hafkemeyer would squeeze themselves around the dining table in whatever space was available on a motley set of chairs. Large dishes of Indonesian and Chinese food sat along the entire length of the table, spices wafting through the air, causing mouths to water and stomachs to grumble.
Indonesian fried rice, curried meat, fried chicken and tons more food weighed the table down. Family members sat shoulder to shoulder and served themselves, using chopsticks and hands to eat the flavorful food made with their grandmother’s love. Hafkemeyer’s favorite dish was her grandmother’s mi goreng, or fried noodles.
“Everyone has their own little twist on it in their household,” Hafkemeyer said. “She would put veggies and small, red-tinted quail eggs. She would mix them in the noodles as a presentation. The red-tinted quail eggs were a Chinese tradition when we celebrated birthdays, promotions, Chinese New Year, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter. It means prosperity and good luck. I always looked forward to eating my grandmother’s noodles.”
Hafkemeyer said because Indonesia lies along the equator, the climate tends to be relatively even year-round with a tropical climate. Indonesia has two seasons—a wet season and a dry season with no extremes of summer or winter. It consists of more than 17,000 islands, and it was easy to travel between them by boat or flying, she said.
“What I loved about Indonesia was that my family and I took trips everywhere,” Hafkemeyer said. “There are so many outdoor things to do and places to visit. My family and I enjoy being by the water more than the mountains as it was colder in the mountains. So, we went to a lot more beaches than mountains.”
When she was 8 years old, Hafkemeyer moved to the U.S. after her mother received an offer from her job at the World Bank to work for them in Washington, D.C.
“She had always wanted to go to the U.S. and bring her family to better opportunities, and that was the only opportunity,” Hafkemeyer said. “She applied for the position in the U.S., and she got it. We were so proud of her and very excited to take on this journey.”
Hafkemeyer’s mother was able to attain green cards for the entire family through a lottery system the immigration office had in the 1990s. With her mother, father and twin sister, Hafkemeyer moved to Virginia.
“When I got to the states, it was December of ’98,” Hafkemeyer said. “And I remember as we were leaving the airport and stepped outside of Dulles International Airport it was cold and it was flurrying. That was the first time I’d seen snow in my life. I was very astonished and amazed by the beauty of snow falling down from the sky. It felt like a dream that my family and I have arrived in the U.S. and get to experience all of this.”
She had been nervous to start school, as she only spoke her native language, Bahasa Indonesia, at the time. However, she said her first impression of the states was that the people were very welcoming and friendly.
“I only spoke very basic English,” Hafkemeyer said. “I was in fifth grade, and it was very nerve-wracking, but my classmates were very welcoming. They knew I was not fluent in English, so they would try to use hand gestures or point at something to make me understand and comprehend. I made two great friends even though there was a language barrier.”
She was in English as a second language classes until her sophomore year of high school. While she learned the rules of English grammar in her classes, communicating with people was how she really learned the language, Hafkemeyer said.
“Even though I had a thick Indonesian accent in my English language at the time, that’s how I really learned and started becoming fluent,” Hafkemeyer said. “I was not ashamed or embarrassed because the area in Virginia is really diverse. There were many residents from all over the world, so I didn’t feel like an outsider.”
Hafkemeyer last visited Indonesia when she was 16 years old. With college, marriage and three kids, it has been hard to gather time to go, she said. She tries to bring her culture to her kids by feeding their curiosity about Indonesia and their hunger by making the foods she grew up eating, like her grandmother’s noodles, Indonesian fried rice, and curries.
“They get the taste of my home country from their home,” Hafkemeyer said. “They like it when I make them my authentic Indonesian foods. I also implement and teach a few phrases in my native language to my family so they can understand the culture more. If they have any questions and they’re curious about Indonesia, I try my best to inform them so they understand that this is part of them, too.”
The Hafkemeyers busy military life has also made it difficult for her to return to Indonesia. Her husband, Lee, commissioned into the Army in 2010. Since then, the Hafkemeyers have lived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Presidio of Monterrey, California; and Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, growing their family along the way.
“I can’t see myself doing life differently than what I’m doing now,” Hafkemeyer said. “I think God allowed for all this to happen because he knows I’m capable and gave my family and I the blessings along the way to experience the beauty of this military life. We’ve moved around and seen so many beautiful parts of the country. My kids are so resilient after each move and will only become stronger as they get older. I would not do life any differently.”
Hafkemeyer and her family moved to Huntsville in 2022 after her husband, now a major in the Army, received orders to work at the Missile Defense Agency. She was working for Morale, Welfare and Recreation before coming to USASMDC as an executive assistant to the chief of staff.
“When I took that MWR position, I knew it was blessing from God and will be a steppingstone for me to eventually get to where I need to be,” Hafkemeyer said. “Even though working for MWR was working for the government, it was in the non-appropriated side. I wanted a job in the federal government. I looked and looked. I submitted so many applications and conducted many interviews during my year and a half with MWR. SMDC was the one God allowed me to have and blessed me with, and I was eager to begin my career journey. I’m here now and enjoying my time with such an efficient team.”
Previously, Hafkemeyer worked in retail at several of her husband’s stations, so her position at USASMDC was the first office job she has ever had.
“I’m learning a lot,” she said. “It’s totally different from what I am used to. I’ve always worked in retail. This is nothing like that but better! I am an extrovert and love to interact with people, so I was a little nervous of what the office setting would be like. After a short two months, I realized my work environment is very high paced and I interact with many throughout my day. I feel very productive, and I love the aspects of this job.”
Hafkemeyer is very proud and thankful of where she is in her life.
“It hasn’t been easy conducting life with three kids in this military lifestyle,” she said. “I went through many hardships along the way, but because of faith and the family support that we have, I’m very thankful. I also think being patient throughout the whole process is key and it has got me to this point in my life where I can work on my career now. Lee is very supportive of me finding my career. He understands how important having a career is for me in my life.”
Hafkemeyer wants to get her master’s degree within the next year.
“I would like to get into a career field, like SMDC, where I can grow and have potential future growth within the organization,” Hafkemeyer said. “I am also hoping that in the near future I am able to take my family to visit Jakarta. I want to be able to show them where I am from, and they could finally meet the rest of my family back home.”
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2024 10:48 |
| Story ID: | 466949 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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