More than 100 international students representing 30 countries around the world are attending Bemidji State University this year.

BSU’s total of 108 international students is its highest since 2012, when 126 international students were on campus, and its group of 26 new undergraduate students is the largest since 28 came to BSU in the fall of 2012.

Some have come to Bemidji through connections to other students who have studied here in the past, others were guided here, and some simply stumbled across the university while trying to figure out their futures.

Beatriz Costa, a freshman in psychology from Recife, Brazil, is one student who found BSU with help from a mentor.

“My high school counselor knew I wanted to go to college in a place like Bemidji State: in a small city with a beautiful landscape,” Costa said. “She introduced me to BSU and after a bit of research I found out it would be perfect for me.”

Costa says she has found faculty and staff at BSU to be genuinely caring and that she’s getting the support she needs to plan her future. She encourages other international students to participate in life on campus.

“If you are going to be an international student, join our International Student Organization to go to fun trips during breaks and activities during the weekends,” she said.

Kesiena Uz-Ikelegbe is a graduate student in environmental studies who came to Bemidji with her two children from Nigeria. She says the International Program Center staff and the professors she studies with have helped her feel at home.

“My experience has been wonderful and I have no regrets whatsoever,” she said. “Coming to a new continent without knowing anybody was almost a setback especially since I am here with my two children, but I have had a wonderful experience, from the warm welcome from the IPC to my professors, who are always there for advice, to the faculty, students and the people of Bemidji who are always willing to answer my questions.

“I must say coming to BSU is surely my best decision ever,” she said.

For Phung Huynh, a senior in business administration, Bemidji’s natural setting in Minnesota’s north woods have provided him with a lifetime of memories, and he says he would recommend BSU to anyone who asked.

“I will say absolutely they should come to BSU,” he said. “It is pretty cold in the winter, and you’ll see snow everywhere – everything will be coated by white snow and it looks very beautiful. You can make snowmen, have snowball fights and ski in the lake when everything was frozen.”

A traditional winter activity also drew Brett Beauvais to BSU from his home in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The junior sport management major is a defenseman on BSU’s Division I men’s ice hockey team and has played in every game since arriving on campus in 2014.

“It has been awesome,” Beauvais said of his time in Bemidji so far. “You get to know many people at BSU, as its a pretty tight-knit community. In regards to hockey, the town of Bemidji and the university really support the team, and that makes putting on the green and white every weekend something to look forward to.”

Contact

• Megan McLaughlin, international recruiter, International Program Center; (218) 755-4096, mmclaughlin@bemidjistate.edu