Finding light on the night shift

An unexpected meeting helped one international student and two families build community and a sense of home

Last fall, Diana Umurerwa ’28 was a first-year international student from Rwanda studying human development and family science at Messiah by day. By night, she served on the night shift for Campus and Building Services. Most evenings after 9 p.m., she could be found at the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts, helping to reset the space for the next day, mopping floors, emptying trash and erasing white boards.

So many things were going right for Umurerwa — she was navigating a new culture and language well, participating in classes and feeling welcomed by both students and professors. Yet she remembers feeling exhausted, and the comparatively colder Pennsylvania weather wasn’t helping. She shared her feelings with her roommate, supportive faculty members and friends, but it was still a lot to process.

“Have you ever felt like you’ve been in a tight spot, and it looks like it’s not going to end? That’s what my first semester sometimes felt like,” she recalls. “After my night shift, I would find myself coming to my room, and I would just cry.”

Then, one night, as Umurerwa set about her work, she saw something she didn’t expect: familiar faces.

Around-the-world connection

Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Justin Biregeya and his wife, Nyakiza Nyantabara, had fled to Burundi after experiencing persecution due to their Rwandan ethnicity. After living for over a decade in a refugee camp in Burundi, they and their six children had recently been granted refugee status and relocated to the United States. Eager for work, they’d taken jobs at Messiah University; however, the language barrier made communication challenging.

One night, the couple was in the High Center, and they heard someone greet them in Kinyarwanda, which is spoken in Rwanda. They looked over to see Umurerwa, who had recognized them as being distinctly Rwandan.

Immediately, a friendship was born.

Mutual blessing

Since that night in the High Center, things have started looking up for Umurerwa. Through the Biregeyas, Umurerwa met another Rwandan couple, Musabyimana Jacqueline and Nsanzabagamwa Emmanuel, who lead a church that holds services in Kinyarwanda. By translating during their job interview, Umurerwa helped them to secure a job at Messiah, as well.

These new friendships have bolstered Umurerwa’s spirit. “I always look forward to speaking my language, to connect with somebody in a way that is like family,” she reflects. “It feels like home for sure.”

And for the Biregeyas, Umurerwa was a gift: She agreed to take on another campus job, serving as a translator between building services and the couple while they learn English.

“God had a reason for everything. He brought me here, and when I was having a hard time, He made a chance for me to make a difference in somebody’s life,” Umurerwa says. “God will make a way when there seems to be no way.”

— Kristine Frey ’07 and Emily Groff ’26