For many, moving away for college is a difficult time, one filled with doubts, concerns and an overwhelming sense of fear. All of those feelings, however, can be multiplied for international students, since they have to trek to a likely completely foreign land. At the same time, they balance missing their home, friends and family while trying to discover how to live on their own. 

Augustana takes a lot of pride in their ever-growing international enrollment. According to the federal 2024-2025 rankings, they climbed to fourth in the nation for baccalaureate colleges in the number of enrolled international students. Of Augie’s 165 new attendees, nearly 50 of them also participated in a varsity-level NCAA sport, representing 24 different nations all over the world. 

Of the more popular sports for international students at Augustana, the men’s and women’s water polo programs draw some of their most talented athletes from outside of the United States. This includes senior goalkeeper out of Bedfordview, South Africa, Declan Hutton, who said he feels he made the best choice coming to Augustana, despite not knowing what the school had to offer..

“I went through a scholarship program that promoted me to coaches who were looking for athletes … and when coach [Ryan Pryor] first found me, that was before [Augustana] had their first ever water polo season,” Hutton said. “I was approached by a couple other schools, and I ended up going with the cheapest option, which ended up being the best option. I’ve never regretted one thing in my coming to Augustana.”

As for fellow water polo athlete, sophomore Anais Jones, she found her way to becoming a Viking after spending a year at home in Australia at Chancellor State College before entering the transfer portal. She wished to continue playing the sport she loves, even if she had to tackle learning how to maneuver in a new country to do so.

“I saw Augustana as somewhere that could give me a chance to play water polo as well as give me that college life where the sport won’t be so consuming,” Jones said. “I still had my doubts, I was going to a new country, I’m not going to know how the systems work, there’s a new education system. So, my first semester here was definitely my roughest because I was having to learn how to adapt to the new learning styles. It was definitely a culture shock.”

Along with having to learn a number of new things, one of the hardest experiences for international students is having to leave everything they do know behind. Leaving your friends and family in a different country, a different timezone and a different culture certainly presents itself as a challenge for many young adults looking to move away for college. 

That fact is true for junior soccer and track athlete Giorgia Felicita, as one of the earliest and most persistent issues she comes across is how to keep in touch with those she had to leave in Villa Verucchio, Italy. Despite the problems it presents, she knows that the distance is worth her pursuit of a dream she said she’s held for many years. 

“It was a really hard decision to move away,” Felicata said. “I just wanted to experience living by myself and just growing up. I could have just moved a city away, but I just wanted to see for myself if I could do it, to see if I was able to do this without the help of my family. Of course, I love them; they support me, but I felt I needed the space to find what I wanted to do with my life.”

While the hardships are undeniable, many of the athletes asked will say that there’s not a thing they would change, and getting that chance to experience a new place independantly and build a community of their own is something that they will cherish forever. 

“If I were able to go and talk to my past self, I would just say ‘It’s going to be okay,’” Jones said. “It’s an amazing experience, and I would do it again a million times over. I don’t think there’s anything I would change.”