Most Hillsdale students rushed home in March to be with their families as the COVID-19 lockdowns began. But international students from Spain and Kenya stayed behind.
Senior Nico Ruben de Enrique Schmidt, from Mallorca, Spain, hasn’t left Hillsdale since last January.
“When I go home for Christmas, it will be a full year since I’ve been home,” Schmidt said.
For Schmidt, remaining in the United States did not inconvenience him too much, since he had to complete his lease and biochemistry research to graduate this year. Not seeing his family for so long has been the most difficult part of not returning home.
“It was the right decision, but it does hurt to not see your family and being alone for so long. Everyone had it hard in some way,” he said. “FaceTiming my parents or my sister, it’s not the same as seeing them or feeling them or being with them.”
When asked what he misses most, Schmidt answered, “Family, friends, the culture, the essence of being home, being with people who talk your language, and being with those who have the same sense of humor as you.”
Schmidt has found a local family that provides support.
“There’s this nice couple, Keith and Becky Brown, who helped me out,” he said. “I always watch movies with them on Friday nights, and we hang out. They fill that spot of family.”
Junior Rachael Kiti of Kenya has also been in Hillsdale since the school transitioned to online classes last spring and returned to in-person classes this fall. When the federal government said international students could not remain in the country, she was uncertain what to do.
“When COVID hit and the restrictions changed, and we would have to go home if we were taking online classes, we’re thinking, ‘It’s not my fault that COVID hit,’” Kiti said. “The travel home was and still is hard to plan. You don’t know if you’ll go home, if you can come back.”
In order to accommodate Kiti, who could not easily return to her home near the coast of Kenya, the school provided her with housing while the campus was closed.
“The college was generous enough to give us housing to stay here from the beginning of COVID, into the summer, and until now into the school year,” she said. “It was kind of depressing, but we try to find joy in the little things. For example, we tried to find internships on campus.”
Kiti expressed some fears, though, of remaining in the United States while not being able to be with family.
“Sometimes you get afraid to call your family, because you’re thinking ‘What if they have COVID?’” she said with concern. “I can’t pick up my bags and go!”
But just like Schmidt, Kiti has found comfort in a local Hillsdale host family.
“I have a host family and they have been my support, and I appreciate them so much,” she said. “Homesickness is the main problem. But international students know each other and are each other’s friends.”
But unlike other international students who remained on campus, tennis player and senior Ivanhoe Lissanevitch, from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, returned home in late April and has remained there, opting to resume his courses with Hillsdale online.
“I’m originally from Kathmanadu, Nepal, but I’ve basically been living around different places, different countries most of my life,” he said. “I have been traveling to different places because of tennis, like living in Barcelona, and have had the opportunity to travel the world. When I made the choice to come to America for school, I wasn’t expecting this.”
Lissanevitch called the COVID-19 response in his home country, “the biggest mandated lockdown in the history of Nepal.”
Although COVID-19 restrictions have been eased over the past month, according to Lissanevitch, the strict lockdown guidelines have resulted in curfews, designated hours for shopping or visiting family members, and inconsistent access to internet and electricity blackouts.
“With power cuts that keep happening, it’s difficult to be on top of school and be online all the time,” Lissanevitch said, “and I’m not able to check all the materials with professors. But they have been super accommodating.”
Despite challenges, Lissanevitch is remaining steadfast in his studies, hopeful in his future with college sports as a tennis player, and optimistic about his circumstances as he looks forward to returning to Hillsdale this upcoming spring.
“You have to be optimistic and see the positive sides, at the end of the day, rather than negativity in our world today,” he said. “I’m happy to be with my family, rather than stressing every day, on the other side of the world, unsure of how my family is doing. It’s a blessing in disguise, but also a lost opportunity.”
Lissanevitch expects to return in-person, this upcoming spring.
“The government in Nepal has made it easier for people like me to leave the country and reenter,” he said. “Regulations have loosened up, but as the COVID situation arises, depending on whether it gets better or worse, a vaccine is developed, it all depends on that.”
