Hannah Black, Reporter

Saif Sarrfani,  Editor

Leaving for college can be difficult for many freshmen, but for Rosa Brenes and Orlando De la O Marchena, it meant saying goodbye to their families and homeland of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. In early fall, Brenes arrived in the United States as an International Gate of Opportunity Scholar.

Brenes feels this scholarship has given her a lot of opportunities not available in Costa Rica. When she graduates, she wants to travel around the world for her job.

“I’m an economics major with an international studies minor,” she said. “Coming here was a good start for me, but I want to live in other places too.”

Freshman Orlando De la O Marchena, the other International Gate of Opportunity Scholar from Costa Rica, said he is grateful for the scholarship. 

“Being here has been a unique and life-changing opportunity for me,” he said. “The chance to adventure and adopt a different culture has been really rewarding.”

The International Gate of Opportunity Scholarship is parallel to the original Gate of Opportunity Scholarship open to eligible U.S. students. 

To apply for the scholarship, Brenes and De la O Marchena went through interviews, submitted recommendation letters and transcripts, and were tested on English comprehension. Once selected, they took a course to improve their English.

Much like traditional Gate Scholars, Brenes and De la O Marchena are required to live at Berry year-round and work a total of 4,500 hours throughout their four years. In return, their costs for attending Berry are downsized with the help of a donor and the college. 

David Slade, coordinator of the International Gate of Opportunity Scholarship, said that although international students have different backgrounds and concerns, the two programs are quite similar.

“The international students participate in a lot of the Gate of Opportunity activities like leadership development, training and orientation,” Slade said. “We thought the Gate of Opportunity program would be a great home for these students.”

Slade added that they are looking for the new program to continue to broaden its horizon.

“We want to leave room for the program to grow right now.,” Slade said.

“There are not plans to offer scholarships to other countries, but one day there could be a student who has a real heart for a certain country and has the finances to fund the scholarship.If that ever happens, we will have an infrastructure in place to facilitate that.” 

Brenes said that the program has helped her achieve her goals and learn about U.S. culture.

“I’m really excited to go home to Costa Rica and tell my family about the great experiences I’ve had at Berry,” she said.