By Adam Meyer

Quincy University welcomes a record number of international students. Some come to play a sport, others come for a degree.

“I think every Division I athlete has that notion in their head (playing professionally). Playing in America or playing for a U.S. college team will help them get to a professional goal. But I also think they come to get a degree on scholarship which is always great,” Garcia Ramser, graduate assistant, said. 

Although this transition into college is seamless for some it is harder for students who are far away from home. For most international students home is not something they can go back to often. Coaches wish to make the transition for their international students as easy as possible, allowing them to make Quincy their new home. The head coach of the men’s volleyball team at QU University, Gavin Mueller, struggled with getting his international athletes on campus.

“The only thing that was difficult is the on campus visit. I like to make sure that they like it here. Along with the team, so I gave them numbers of the current team so that they can communicate and get to know them so when they come here they are not a stranger,” Mueller said.

For International students with their first time being in America exploring Quincy University’s campus is difficult. Some students believe it is large, and for Noam Hannoun he was struggling with this being his first time in the United States. Hannoun is from Israel where he lived his whole life learning English so he could come over to the United States to follow his dream of playing Division I athletics with the most prestigious competition.

Copious amounts of paperwork is filed for student athletes from another country. For some the process takes years. Specifically for Hannoun it took him six years before he was able to get into school.

“So I took classes to take the SAT, sent in my videos to coaches with my resume and then Gavin answered so here I am,” Hannoun said.

During this long process Hannoun played on the Israel national team for volleyball keeping him pre-occupied. Once after playing on the junior national team for Israel Hannoun was then enlisted into Israel’s Army for two years, serving his country.