Fate brought Brian Basu 鈥�21 to the 人妻少妇专区 in 2018.
Intention brought him back.
The international relations major was among eight students from Puerto Rico who attended the University for a 鈥済uest semester鈥� in spring 2018, all expenses paid, after Hurricane Maria destroyed their college campuses back home.
When the semester ended, Basu joined Syanis Vargas Gonzalez 鈥�21, Claudine DaNeri De Leon 鈥�21, and Mariana Ortiz 鈥�21 in applying to transfer to Rochester as full-time students. All four were accepted, and all are on track to graduate in May.
鈥淚 fell in love with everything here,鈥� Basu says. 鈥淭he campus, the ambiance, the environment, even the weather. You get tired of 85 to 100-degree days in Puerto Rico. This is an amazing place.鈥�
Basu has made his mark at Rochester. He鈥檚 the founder and president of both the and (now with more than 50 and 100 members, respectively), serves as a residential advisor at Riverview Apartments, and works in the Office of the Dean of the College. This fall he鈥檚 applying to law schools.
The students are among 33 undergraduates at the College who are from Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island and US territory in which 43 percent of the population lives in poverty, and, according to the US Department of Education, a third of students drop out of high school. Only 25 percent of those who graduate earn college degrees.
Despite these challenges, many have found their way to the River 人妻少妇专区: 17 undergraduates were enrolled in the , a San Juan-based nonprofit that provides Puerto Rican students with mentorship and resources needed to succeed in higher education. Rochester has more Kinesis alumni enrolled than any college on the US mainland鈥攕urpassing Notre Dame, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT.
鈥淩ochester offers an excellent alternative for our students,鈥� says Mayra Prats, college counseling/scholarships director and 12th grade coordinator at Kinesis. 鈥淢ost of our scholars seek a STEM degree, and research is of utmost importance. Rochester is right at the top in that area.鈥�
Joe Latimer, Rochester鈥檚 assistant dean for enrollment diversity and outreach, is the College鈥檚 recruiter in Puerto Rico. Prats says Latimer is passionate and always accessible. 鈥淚 tell parents, 鈥業f I had a child going to college right now, I would feel a sense of safety and security knowing Joe Latimer was around,鈥欌�� she says.
She feels equally comfortable with Rochester鈥檚 financial aid office. 鈥淚 could call there at any time,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd within minutes, someone will provide me with a positive answer.鈥�
Latimer says Rochester was recruiting about four Puerto Rican students per year before 2018, but the guest semester proved a turning point.
鈥淎s a result of the students鈥� positive experiences here, we enrolled eight from Puerto Rico that fall, giving us the critical mass needed to attract islanders to our campus,鈥� he says.
The outeach is a community effort. Latimer says board of trustee member Lizette P茅rez-Deisboeck 鈥�87 has become increasingly involved with recruitment efforts in Puerto Rico, personally connecting with interested students, while alumni such as Carmen Conaway-Mediavilla 鈥�95 and Rafael Baez 鈥�14, 鈥�15S (MS) also interview applicants. Advancement has initiated a welcome celebration each summer to mark the arrival of students to campus from certain geographic regions, including Puerto Rico, and establishes relationships between newly enrolled students and current students and alumni.
鈥淏ut the most important selling point is the spirit of the current students on campus from Puerto Rico,鈥� Latimer says. 鈥淭hey meet prospective students and families and encourage them to consider us over other colleges and universities. The energy is a natural selling point to others.鈥�
The outreach in Puerto Rico is similar to other University efforts at home and abroad. The , launched in 2007, is a tuition-free scholarship program for Rochester City School District graduates. The University began a partnership in 2014 with the , providing full-tuition merit scholarships to qualified students from the Washington, D.C., area. One of those students, Jamal Holtz 鈥�20, was the Students鈥� Association president in 2019鈥�20. Rochester also has partnered with the , a selective college preparatory program in South Africa, since the academy鈥檚 inception in 2008 and been a leading destination for ALA graduates every year.
鈥淥ne of the strengths of the University that drew me to this position is the extraordinary international and domestic diversity of students enrolled at Rochester,鈥� says Robert Alexander, who joined Rochester in June as dean of admissions, financial aid, and enrollment management. 鈥淭he long track record of outreach to the best and brightest students in the world continues to draw students looking for a world-class research university with the warmth and mentoring typical of smaller liberal arts colleges. It鈥檚 clear that our incredible success enrolling students from Puerto Rico demonstrate the results of a collaborative effort from trustees, faculty, current students, and admissions staff.鈥�
Alexander says Latimer鈥檚 commitment in Puerto Rico is exceptional. 鈥淚t goes above and beyond expectations,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 look forward to playing my part to continue to increase our reach.鈥�
Pamela 脕lvarez Rosario 鈥�23 was a member of the Kinesis Foundation while in high school. She received SAT preparation and training in PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Excel, and was assigned an advisor to help with college applications and transition. 鈥淢y advisor thought Rochester would be a great option for me and connected me with Joe Latimer,鈥� the neuroscience major says. 鈥淛oe told me how to apply, I visited the campus in April 2019 and fell in love with it. The close-knit community and the open curriculum are big attractions.鈥�
Alvarez is vice president of the Puerto Rican Students Organization and a member of the D鈥橪ion student advising group for first-year students.
Camila Ruiz Vega 鈥�22 is another Kinesis alumnus. A biomedical engineering major and captain of the women鈥檚 tennis team, she also works in the Office of the Dean of the College and at the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections. 鈥淛oe Latimer had a Zoom call with some of us from Kinesis, and there was just something about his personality and the way he spoke about Rochester so enthusiastically that grabbed my attention.鈥� She came to Rochester for a three-day visit, and Basu was her tour guide. By the time she left, her mind was made up. 鈥淚 wanted to major in biomedical engineering, and this was one of the best schools to do so,鈥� Ruiz Vega says, adding. 鈥淚鈥檝e felt comfortable here since the very beginning.鈥�
Four other students from Puerto Rico are on varsity athletic programs: Claudia Garcia 鈥�23 (women鈥檚 cross country and track and field), Alondra Mendez 鈥�23 (women鈥檚 rowing), Rafael Luna 鈥�23 (men鈥檚 tennis), and Ivana Sanchez 鈥�24 (women鈥檚 volleyball).
Elizabeth Garcia 鈥�24 is a microbiology major on a pre-med track. She also chose Rochester largely because of its open curriculum, which she says, 鈥渙pens limitless doors for gaining knowledge, research, and opportunities.鈥�
Garcia arrived here in August from her home in Caguas. So far, so great.
鈥淚 was searching for American colleges with microbiology majors and was amazed to read so many comments from students who talked about the 鈥楻ochester Effect,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚 visited last fall, and I remember thinking, 鈥楾his is it. This is the school.鈥欌��
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