DE PERE, Wis (NBC 26) -- Back in the fall, the incoming freshmen at St. Norbert College were preparing for a year unlike any other previous student body had experienced before. It would be a year that offered a combination of both virtual and in-person learning. But for some international students, it was a much more difficult process just to get to De Pere, Wisconsin.
"Travel restrictions, border closures, as well as international quarantine requirements, and the information is changing very regularly for students," says Andelys Bolanos the Director of International Recruitment and Admissions at St. Norbert College.
Bolanos says the restrictions on travel due to Covid-19 are loosening in some countries, but it's still a barrier for many.
"I was hoping to go to Wisconsin, but here in my country things are not good from Covid-19 so I couldn't travel," adds Jaime Morales a Freshman at St. Norbert College currently taking classwork in Peru.
Morales says the access to online learning from his home coupled with the availability of professors makes the process of finishing coursework doable, but admittedly he says he is missing out on some things he looked forward to doing in person this semester.
"Make some friends, live the college experience, and the experience of living in the US too."
Morales says he plans on traveling to De Pere for his second semester in the fall, but other international students through ongoing efforts at the college's admissions office have already made it to Wisconsin for at least some in-person learning opportunities. It's a reality that is unlike the opportunities being offered right now in many of their home countries.
"The schools and universities are still closed. They are only doing classes online," says JP Linares a Freshmen at St. Norbert College studying in person this semester from Peru.
Linares is taking advantage of some of the liberties being offered on the De Pere campus today. And while group sizes are regulated, masks are required, and some of his courses are online, he says he is really benefiting from the experience that living on campus has provided.
"The experience of college, I can enjoy it right now. Because I couldn't from my computer."
For more information regarding St. Norbert College's International and Scholar Services, click here.
