Madeline Satrya hails from South Tangerang, Indonesia, which is over 9,000 miles away and over 20 hours of flight time from San Diego.
The San Diego City College women’s tennis player followed in the footsteps of her sister, Faith, who also played tennis at City College from 2021-2022.
Faith, who is now studying statistics and data science at UCLA, advised Madeline to go to City College as well.
“Having my sister come before me and encourage me to come here, along with having other family living here, drove me to City,” said Madeline, who also has an aunt who lives in San Diego.
The long trip from home to pursue an education has proven to be worth it so far, especially outside the classroom.
Satrya was part of the history-making season for the Knights, who won the school’s first outright PCAC championship since 2000.
She played alongside team leader Sinaia Haskal, who earned PCAC Athlete of the Year for her efforts.
Despite Satrya battling an injury on the court this season, head tennis coach Jami Yonekura-Jones has seen growth from the tennis player all around.
“Her tennis has definitely improved,” Jones said. “She’s just gotten so much more mature, independent, responsible, which is awesome.”
Although she missed most of this season with an injury, Satrya was an integral part in helping her team win their March 21 matchup against Mt. San Jacinto with an 8-4 doubles victory playing alongside Arleen Torres.
“There was a big gap between October and January where I couldn’t get proper training because I was injured,” Satrya said. “But I definitely feel really good now.”
Satrya admits there’s been a learning curve in some aspects of acclimating to life in San Diego.
“The idea of what driving here is honestly has been difficult,” Satrya said. “Driving back home versus driving here is very different than I’m used to.”
The rising cost of living in San Diego has also been something that surprised her, especially when comparing prices in Indonesia.
But the relationships she had made have helped.
“Everyone’s been really nice,” she said.
Outside of tennis and taking classes, the San Diego Zoo has become one of Satrya’s favorite San Diego attractions, even if taking classes at both City and Mesa colleges kept her busy.
Although the women’s tennis team’s season ended in a playoff loss to Santa Monica, Satrya has bigger goals outside of tennis.
“My goal is to transfer to a UC, ideally UCSD, with a double major in bioengineering and atmospheric sciences,” she said. “I’m then probably going to look for work here (in the U.S.), and if I don’t find anything, then I might head home.”
