“I was recruited here to be part of the bowling team. I had friends from Mexico who were also part of the bowling team, and I heard from them and girls from other schools that the JSU team was very united and nice to each other. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to be in a good environment with a good team. And I heard JSU had a good civil engineering program. So, I decided to attend.

At first, it was hard for my mom because I was the first of the family to leave. I can remember my mom crying every day because I was about to leave, and my sister told me my mom was sad that I wasn’t there. But my family knows that leaving has helped me to grow and become a better person, more responsible and all that stuff. So, they’re proud of me, and they’re happy I’m here. But of course, they miss me.

I was nervous to come, mostly because of my English. I can communicate, but I don’t speak like a native American. So when I got here, I was nervous that I wouldn’t understand people or they wouldn’t understand me. And the culture is also different. But once I got here, everyone was so nice, and I felt comfortable. I like it. Something I wasn’t used to was people saying hi to you, even if they don’t know you. Just people being nice without a reason.

– Mariana, sophomore civil engineering major from Sonora, Mexico