Freshman Ricardo Pérez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the Dominican Republic when he was five-years-old. He attended an American certified school that provided SAT prep, English-taught classes and assistance with filling out the Common Application.

“I always wanted to study in the U.S.,” Pérez said. “I know studying here offers a lot of opportunities, academic and internship wise, and I wanted to dig into that.”

His decision to choose MU was made based on the beautiful campus, great engineering program and multiple scholarship offers. As a U.S. citizen, Pérez had access to good out-of-state scholarships, though his friends born in the Dominican Republic were not as fortunate.

“International students don’t have as many scholarship opportunities as out-of-state students,” Pérez said. “That’s the problem a lot of my friends faced, which is pretty sad.”

Pérez’s friend of twelve years, Abraham Guerrero, attends the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology. He wanted to attend an American college, but couldn’t due to the high expenses.

“I was very proud that [Pérez] got into [an American college],” Guerrero said. “That was his dream so I was very happy, but, at the same time, he was leaving the country so I can’t see him in person anymore so that’s sad.”

Having a long-distance friendship is tough for Guerrero, but he and Pérez stay in touch by talking on the phone daily. 

“He told me [MU] is very fun and he has made many friends,” Guerrero said. “It has a very good ambiance and a lot of things to do. He also likes going to the football games a lot because we don’t have football in the Dominican Republic.”

Pérez misses his hometown friends along with his family and dog. Although Perez is loving his time at MU, he said the transition to college in a new country has been difficult considering the long distance.

“I always hear my friends from the dorms say ‘I’m going back to my house this weekend, we’re all going to be back home,’ or whatever,” Pérez said. “I can’t just take a flight and come back on Sunday, so it is kind of tough to not have that option available.”

Another big transition Pérez faced was the difference between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the Dominican Republic had stricter protocols with a national curfew that was as early as 6 p.m. in April 2021.

“Here I’ve seen the culture’s very free. The people just do what they want, but the vaccine has been here for a while, so I do understand,” Pérez said. “In the DR, there was no option if you wanted to follow [the curfew] or not. You’d actually be stopped by cops if you were driving around after the curfew.”

Pérez came to the U.S. in May to get vaccinated so he could feel more relaxed when returning to the Dominican Republic for breaks. He will only be returning home once during the school year and once for summer break due to the high flight costs.

“That’s why I work hard, because [my parents] are making a sacrifice to have me here,” Pérez said. “I can’t wait for Christmas to go back and spend some time with them.”

Edited by Shannon Worley | sworley@themaneater.com