Global presence growing

Throughout the past few years, Providence College has been able to fund an increasingly greater number of international students on academic scholarships enabling them to come and attend college in the United States

"In the last two years the College has moved towards increasing the number of students from a variety of countries by means of considering them for merit based scholarships," said Dr. John T. Hogan, the international student advisor at PC.

In the 2003-04 academic year, Providence College had a total of two international students living on campus hailing from non-English speaking countries. The freshmen Class of 2009, however, has a total of seven international students out of which four students were from Nepal, and one each from Bulgaria, Zimbabwe, and Serbia- all on some form of merit-based scholarship.

PC's increasing global presence, compared to its relatively small size, could reveal the strength of the alumni or an increase in prestige over the years. The application process, which could prove daunting when initiated from abroad, is made easier by the ease and accessibility the internet offers, especially since the PC Office of Admission accepts the Common Application, available at www.commonapp.org. As Ramit Khanduja '09, from Nepal simply put it, "The application process was one of the easier things in the whole adjustment process."

Abigail Mariga '09, hails from the town of Chitungwiza in Harare, Zimbabwe. She was one of 20 students selected out of 400 under the U.S. Student Achiever's Program designed for economically disadvantaged students in her country. Being selected for the program, however, did not guarantee a scholarship or admission to a U.S. university or college but ensured that she would be given adequate resources and guidance in being able to then start the application process. It is there that she looked up the names of potential colleges and found that PC offered a Martin Luther King (MLK) scholarship, for which she was eligible. She was then one of the 15 to be lucky enough to get into a college with a full tuition scholarship although room and board was still an expense to be considered. Here she was helped by the Grace Scholarship Fund in San Francisco, which agreed to bear the remaining portion of her college expenditure that the MLK scholarship did not cover.

Upon being asked about the cultural differences she experienced here at PC, Mariga pointed out that teacher student relations here were less formal and that it was not mandatory to greet elders while you walk past them. "Eating or drinking during class back home is impossible, whereas here there is more independence given to a student," said Mariga. On differences in culture, she promptly mentioned that the food is much different from what she would eat in Zimbabwe, where the staple food was 'Sadza,' ground maize with chicken or vegetables. "Pasta and rice are considered special food at home."

She is grateful to the people at the Balfour Center who she says "are always willing to help." She said the center was of particular help when it came to finding books and supplies. "One of my best experiences yet at PC has been my roommates, who have helped me the most and who I owe a lot to," said Mariga who lives in a quad in Raymond Hall.

Mariga, incidentally the only student from the African continent, does not have many things she would like to see change about PC, except she feels PC could improve in dealing with international students in some areas. "In Zimbabwe, the currency market is extremely regulated, and paying even a small deposit of $700, is a major inconvenience." Her request for a waiver or deferment of the deposit was not considered. "I was lucky that the U.S. embassy in Harare wired in $500 on my behalf, but that involved a lot of complications and inconveniences which could have been avoided."

Overall, she says her reception at PC was warm and affectionate, and that she looks forward to her stay here. She will be lobbying for increasing international enrollment, especially from Africa, and will also try participating in many clubs on campus.

The Class of 2009 has four students from Nepal, all hailing from the city of Kathmandu. All of them said they chose PC because of the merit scholarships the College offered and because of the advantages of a liberal arts education. Deep Shreshta '09 said the academic program here is "more flexible and diverse in that it could allow you to do a pre-engineering degree along with taking courses in management and the humanities." The application process was "relatively difficult compared to what is there in Nepal," said Shreshta, although getting the requisite visas and I-20 forms was comparatively easy. "Coming here was a great shock. I wasn't used to things like fire drills, racing down the highway at 100 miles an hour and the big malls," said he.

Rijan Shreshta '09 chose PC because he was offered scholarship funds,which made it possible for him to attend college. He felt that college students here were more inclined to "drinking and late night partying," a concept that he said was alien to him. He loves the PC campus and says it stands out because despite being close to the city, it has a sense of isolation about it. Shrestha, who is considering majoring in pre-engineering, said he is excited about his stay here. His only qualm is that the College should offer some kind of need-based financial assistance to international students and set up a loan program, elements which he believes are absent as of now.

Abiral Sthapit says that essays were the toughest part of the application process, as he was a non-native English speaker. One of his greatest adjustments has been the food that he eats here, which he finds to be "not very spicy and very oily," unlike Nepalese food which he says has a rich blend of different spices. He was particularly impressed with the student-teacher relationships that he feels dominate his PC experience. His professors encourage him to express his opinions and to clarify his doubts.

Ramit Khanduja took a year off after high school, and used that time to research colleges in the United States. where he would be able to find a scholarship to cover his college expenses. He chose PC over Drexel University because they offered him a higher scholarship and says that he loves the small college atmosphere here. His interests include soccer, he plans to join an intramural team to keep him busy, and cricket, which he later learned is not very popular here. He says reception at PC was dominated primarily by his interaction with his roommates who "are the best possible people I could have expected to meet," and he hopes to form a criket club someday..

All the students from Nepal had special praise for Rev. Mark D. Nowel, O.P., dean of undergraduate studies, who Deep Shrestha described as "a true father" and Hogan, who made them feel at home, looking after most of their needs. Further, they reserved praise for Richard "Buddy" Lambert '07 and to Matt Weber '06, who went out of their ways to help them get settled in with books and supplies.

Dimitar Kovachev '09, came to PC from Stara Zagora, Bulgaria on an academic scholarship and says he chose PC because an english teacher in his high school recommended it to him. He says applying was not as much of a problem, as he could use the Internet to download all of the requisite forms.

Kovachev feels that the environment in America is more dynamic than in that of Bulgaria, which has smaller, closer-knit communities. "People here are always in a hurry and work very hard," said Kovachev, who is still getting used to this fast lifestyle. He loved the PC campus since he feels more at ease with the non-urban feel that it radiates, which reminds him of home. He also was impressed with the teacher-student relationships and felt that all his professors were helpful in assisting him with used books and difficulties he had grasping the material in his Development of Western Civilization course."I don't have much experience with it" he said.

As he doesn't have a computer, he gets inconvenienced by the library and the computer labs closing by 1:00 a.m. One of the requests he would like to make to the administration is to open up available jobs for international students who by default are not ellegible for work-study programs and therefore cannot find work on campus easily. He also had a difficult time buying books for his courses as they are expensive and not covered by his scholarship. Kovachev, who is considering a pre-engineering major also, has so far enjoyed his experience here, and can be often seen playing pool at McPhail's.

Ivana Stojanovic '09, heard of Providence College from brother who is currently enrolled in a Ph.D program at Brown University. PC immediately grew on her, and its small size and liberal arts education enticed her to apply. She said she found the application process tough because of the variety of material required to make a complete application, and believed the essay section was the most difficult.

Culturally, Stojanovic found Providence very different from Serbia. "In Serbia, you can walk around the city at all times, its very safe, unlike here where you are advised to walk with somebody at night," said Ivana hinting at Serbia's low crime rate. She also pointed out that Serbia has no drinking age and that "alcohol isn't as big a deal there and isn't misused as much as it is here." She claimed to have had a tough time adjusting to the food here in general which she claims is "greasy and mostly fried" compared to Belgium where "meals are more spicy and cooked well." She was also impressed by the faculty here at PC, whom she said are more approachable and friendly towards students.

These students are just a sampling of the College's international community. There are also students from Myanmar, India, Angola, New Zealand, Ireland, Britain, exchange students from Brussels, and from many other nations currently enrolled here at PC.