This semester St. Edward’s University welcomed 115 new international students. For the first time, St. Edward’s is hosting students from Burma, Uzbekistan, Poland and Vietnam. Students from 38 countries currently study at St. Edward’s.

The growing number of foreign students on campus has been attracting more foreign students from around the world. This is because of the many successful established connections between St. Edward’s and other foreign universities and countries. This makes the study abroad experience a little less scary.

“It takes away the fears of the new students, because you know there are people you can identify with,” Leonidas Lacayo, a senior from Honduras said.

The international aspect of St. Edward’s is an asset that makes students from all over the world feel at home on this campus. However, the university’s emerging academic reputation is also a driving factor, David Bernay, assistant director of Admission, said.

“St. Edward’s attracts international students because of the university’s academic excellence and the rising profile of Austin as an international destination,” Bernay said.

Some international students found St. Edward’s on their own. However, Bernay and the Admissions Office recruited others.

“David Bernay and Amy Kice do a great job connecting with international students and passing on info about St. Ed’s,” Lacayo said.

The Admissions Office works with high schools from all around the world to bring students to St. Edward’s. More students have been coming from Latin America and the Middle East over the past few years.

 St. Edward’s sends representative each year to high schools in Central and South America. These trips have yielded more international presence from countries including Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Employees of the Admissions Office, including Bernay, also travel to the Middle East to recruit high school students.

“In general, the Middle East is an excellent place to meet international students. There are excellent international and American high schools where sometimes we meet students from Houston, Dallas and Austin because their parents work in the region,” Bernay said.  “I travel in the Middle East for two weeks a year. St. Edward’s has a long history of educating students from the region.”

Some American students come back from other countries to study at St. Edward’s. They do not count as International students, but these students add to the diversity on St. Edward’s campus.

“I lived in Korea for three years but previously I lived in South Africa, Japan and Swaziland,” Sophomore Melissa Wilde said. “My mom works for the US government. I went to an international school, so it had a lot of international students, but Americans were not the majority.”

As students choose St. Edward’s as their new home, it does not matter what their country of origin is as the diversity of cultures grows on campus.

“One of the reasons they (students like Wilde) pick St. Edward’s is that St. Edward’s reminds them of the school they would go to overseas,” Wilde said.