Trinity Magazine: Winter/Spring 2007
Meet Three of Trinity�s
International Students
St. Augustine wrote
�the World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.�
Today at Trinity, dozens of students from around the globe are
writing their own stories, adding pages filled with adventure and
newfound understanding. Some of these students hail from large
cities, others from remote islands of civilization, but all have
traveled thousands of miles to study at Trinity, and each has a
fascinating tale to tell.
Dimitar Vakadinov
 School
of Professional Studies student Dimitar Vakadinov chose Trinity to
prepare himself for a successful career in business. Raised in
Bulgaria�s capital city of Sofia, Dimitar saw a unique opportunity
in his country�s recent admission to the European Union. E.U.
membership is likely to rejuvenate Bulgaria�s struggling economy,
which collapsed in 1996.
Although Sofia is now the 15th largest city in the E.U., Vakadinov
admits that economic and technological progress is slower than in
Western Europe and the United States. According to Vakadinov,
business opportunities in the E.U. are located mostly in Western
Europe, and he hopes to one day help Bulgarian companies expand into
these newly-accessible markets.
To best represent his
country as a businessman, Vakadinov realized that he would need the
advantage of a global perspective. At just 24, he had already earned
an undergraduate degree in economy of transportation, and was well
on his way toward a graduate degree in economy of communication − a
degree he intends to complete in the future. Vakadinov astutely
decided to change the course of his graduate studies toward a degree
that would help him capitalize on the window of opportunity
presented by Bulgaria�s new E.U. membership.
To gain the international experience necessary for success in the
E.U., Vakadinov chose to seek an education outside his native
Bulgaria. He chose to come to the United States to get his master�s
degree, having traveled to the U.S. in the summers of 2002 through
2005. During these trips Vakadinov worked in several locations
throughout the Washington, D.C. area.
Interestingly, the U.S. capital was not Vakadinov�s planned
destination on the first of these summer visits, and his story is a
testament to the challenges facing college-age students who choose
to travel to a foreign country with a different culture and
language.
On his first trip to the
U.S. in 2002, Vakadinov was part of a group of Bulgarian students
who had each paid a significant amount of money for the opportunity
to work for the summer at a chain of hotels in Atlanta, Georgia.
Upon arriving in the U.S., the group was surprised to be stopped at
JFK International Airport, and unexpectedly brought to a university
campus in New York. There they were told that the promised jobs did
not exist and that their travel contracts were invalid. Stranded in
a strange country, the students franticly sought jobs that would
allow them to stay, and would be possible for them to perform with
their limited English skills.
Back in Sofia, parents
grew increasingly concerned for the welfare of their children adrift
in a distant land. �It was a big scandal in Bulgaria,� according to
Vakadinov. Unbelieveably, the hotel chain in Atlanta had signed
contracts to employ over six hundred Bulgarians, but now the
students had nowhere to turn in an unfamiliar culture.
Fortunately, Vakadinov
found work as a lifeguard in the national capital area, instead of
Atlanta, for the summer, and has traveled to the U.S. each year
since.
Vakadinov�s first trip to
the U.S. was chaotic and scandal-ridden; strangely, this may explain
why he chose Trinity when making another important decision about
his international adventures�and why he recommends Trinity to other
foreign students. He cites the University�s superior support of
international students and the efficiency of its admissions process
among the reasons he chose Trinity, where he has been pursuing an
M.B.A. in international business since October.
Vakadinov�s appreciation
for Trinity�s outreach to international students is evident. �I feel
I�m somebody here,� at Trinity, he says. �When I go to see Deepa
[Peppin, Trinity�s director of international student services], she
knows who I am.�
Trinity�s uniquely
personal approach to education continues in the classroom, where
Vakadinov is pleased by the small class size, saying, �there�s not
fifty people�teachers know if I participate.� He hopes that his
fellow students also benefit from this close interaction with
Trinity�s international students. �We can come with a lot from our
culture,� he says, �We have a different point of view�ideas that
sometimes work better.�
Vakadinov whole-heartedly
recommends international study to other students. �It�s a great
experience for me to be here and study in English�I know it�s going
to help my future development.�
Sashini Perera
 Senior
Sashini Perera comes to Trinity from the mountainous town of Matale
in the island nation of Sri Lanka. Perera was inspired by her
mother, a successful businesswoman who owns and oversees three
restaurants, a spice estate, and a tea plantation. �Whenever I had
the time I would help my mother with the family businesses � some
day I want to have a shop of my own,� declares Perera.
Successfully following in
her mother�s footsteps would require the dual advantages of
education and experience, so after high school Perera sought a
quality education in Sri Lanka. Hoping for a global perspective, she
enrolled in a program offering a degree from an American university,
but found conditions at her school to be very difficult. �There was
no library, no internet on campus outside the classroom,� she
recalls, �it is hard to learn without the proper resources.�
Using her family�s own
internet connection, Perera searched for opportunities to transfer
to a better school abroad, specifically in Washington, D.C., so that
she could be close to her aunt and uncle who live nearby in
Maryland. �When I found Trinity�s web site, I knew I wanted to come
here,� she says, �I liked the women�s college aspect, and the size
of the college � not too big.�
Sashini applied, and was
accepted to Trinity�s College of Arts and Sciences as a transfer
student, then set out to journey from Sri Lanka (off the southern
coast of the Indian subcontinent) nearly halfway around the globe to
Washington, D.C. When she first arrived on campus � her first trip
to the United States � she knew had made �the right choice.�
While studying for her
undergraduate degree in business administration, Perera has made the
beautiful Trinity campus her second home. For the past year, she has
gained hands-on experience through Trinity�s work-study program,
working on-campus as the department of public safety assistant.
Knowing the value of a strong, female mentor, she credits Trinity�s
director of public safety, Terri Stewart, as being a model of good
leadership. In addition to administrative tasks, Stewart assigned
Perera to work in �access control� greeting campus visitors and
ensuring that only authorized individuals are allowed on campus. �I
learned that I want to work with people, not stuck behind a
computer, or something like that,� she exclaims.
In addition to her studies
and campus job, Perera is treasurer of the International
Organization of Trinity and a member of the Green Leaders
Association. She has faith that these experiences will give her the
tools needed to open her own successful business when she returns to
her tropical homeland. With all she does at Trinity, it is clear
that Perera is having the experience of a lifetime.
Fortunately, she does find
some time to relax; �I love to swim at the Trinity Center,� she
reveals.
Leonie Quinn
 Senior
Leonie Quinn first attended college at Southern Cross University in
Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. At Southern Cross she studied
media arts and communication, but soon grew restless. �I guess I
studied to get into university because it�s just what you did,� says
Leonie. �But when I got there I really didn�t like it.�
Quinn decided to turn the
page and left the university to travel. Taking advantage of her
father�s British citizenship, she applied for, and received, a
British passport, and set out on her international adventure.
During two trips to the
U.S., Quinn worked at summer camps for at-risk children in Los
Angeles, an experience she found surprising. �At every meal kids
would steal food � I never considered that children might not have
enough to eat,� she recalls. �I never considered that children would
need to be checked each day for knives!�
Her eye-opening experience
at the camps helped to shape her current career goal, to work with
children � especially children in need. To that end, Quinn has
studied for the past two years at Trinity, working toward her
bachelor�s degree with a minor in education. At the same time, she
works at a nonprofit after-school program for at-risk children as
site coordinator. In this position, she works with about sixty
children and gains teaching experience. �I liked the nonprofit
aspect, without being stuck in a school system just yet,� says
Quinn, �and it�s part time, which suits going to school.�
Quinn�s current job is not
her first. After her camp experience in Los Angeles, she traveled to
Europe, and wound up living in London for seven years as part of her
continuing journey. �I was having fun,� she says, traveling in
Europe and living in cosmopolitan London. However, the job she kept
to sustain herself, working as a computer network administrator,
�just wasn�t what I knew I should be doing.�
Seeking a change, Quinn
moved to the U.S. After so many years, she is just weeks away from
finishing her undergraduate studies: on Sunday, May 20, she will
graduate with her Trinity classmates. Looking back on her travels,
she sees many valuable experiences that have shaped her personal
development. She recommends travel to other students, saying, �a lot
of young American students should definitely do it. Travel will give
them the opportunity to experience other cultures. It has helped me
build a strong self-identity. Studying abroad helps you get to know
a lot of the rest of the world as well, and builds tolerance,
understanding, and patience.� Return to Trinity Magazine Winter/Spring 2007
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