In the 1980s and early ’90s, Kelly Elizabeth Stephens was working in Indonesia, teaching English in universities and government ministries and establishing and supervising English-language centers. Fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, she also trained teachers in the Southeast Asian nation.

But in June 1993, Stephens was fatally injured when the volcano Anak Krakatau, off the west coast of Java, erupted. She was 37 years old.

Two years later, her family established the Kelly Elizabeth Stephens Memorial Scholarship Fund at Boston University. In each of the 20 years since, the scholarship has enabled at least one student from Indonesia to come to BU to earn a master’s degree, and in some cases a PhD, in education, ensuring that Stephens’ work as an educator will continue in the country she loved.

Kelly’s mother, Dorothy Stephens, says that even though the family had no prior BU connections, the decision to establish the scholarship at Boston University was an easy one. “My husband and I knew we wanted the scholarship to go to a university in Boston, so that we could meet the scholars,” she says. After visiting several local schools, they met with the School of Education dean at the time, Edwin Delattre, now a professor emeritus, and quickly realized that BU was the best fit.

“Dean Delattre was very supportive of the idea of a scholarship for international students,” Dorothy recalls, an attitude they didn’t find at other schools. “And SED already had such an excellent reputation.”

The Stephens scholars refer to themselves collectively as KESSA: the Kelly Elizabeth Stephens Scholarship alumni. Today, the Stephens family—including Kelly’s brother, Rob, and his wife and daughters—still make it a point to meet every scholar, hosting dinners for students in Boston and staying in touch with alumni around the world. “When the new scholars come, the ones who are already here help them settle in,” Dorothy says.

All of the KESSA graduates have returned to Indonesia to teach. One of the current scholars, Harijanto Tjahjono (SED’05,’16), who is pur­suing a doctorate at SED, has established Anekata Indonesia, a nonprofit that offers educational programs on issues of diversity, discrimination, and prejudice in Indonesia. “I learned about diversity in a class at SED,” he says. “So, on top of everyday interactions with American people and society, I also learned it formally.”

Another influential KESSA member, Totok Amin Soefijanto (SED’00,’05), is the education knowledge and management specialist for Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership, a think tank within Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture, where he helps develop research-based policies. He is also founder and director of the Southeast Asia (SEA) Peace Lab, where he and his colleagues are helping government officials, civil society organizations, NGOs, and religious leaders address the threat of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), among other projects.

This past spring, the School of Education awarded Soefijanto its inaugural International Alumni Award at an event in Jakarta. The Stephens family attended—reuniting with KESSA scholars and meeting other Indonesian alumni—as did SED Dean Hardin Coleman and US Ambassador Robert Blake, in an effort to promote awareness of the part­nership between Indonesia and Boston University.

“We have this unique re­lationship with Indonesia,” Coleman says. “I don’t know any other schools of education that have it.”