Yormellie E. Estrada, who attended Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto in Rio Piedras, and Marivellisse Acosta, who attended Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto in Bayamon, are now students at Central Connecticut.

The two came to Central through the Airbridge program created by Central President Dr. Zulma Toro after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last September. Through the program, displaced college students were able to come to Central to continue their studies.

“Our fall term that we started back home was interrupted by the storm,” Acosta said. “I personally got here Oct. 31.”

The two finished a whole semester in eight weeks. Estrada, a biology major, is graduating in December, while Acosta, a communications major, is a sophomore.

The transition to Central was pleasant. Back in Puerto Rico, education is different and limited. Students’ educational goals are not their choice, often sending students into a path they disagree with.

“Back home, the public system for school is different. You get accepted into school and into a degree. You don’t get accepted into school and then you choose your major and minor,” Acosta said. “To change your major or minor is very, very difficult.”

Acosta was studying to be a secretary because that is what she got accepted into. When she got to Central, she realized her love for communications. If she’d stayed in Puerto Rico, the switch would have been highly unlikely.

“You have to have a certain GPA to go into that school and to get into a program you might want,” Estrada said.

“They place you into whatever you can say that they feel is fit for you based on your GPA and all those things. So, even though, let’s say, you can be the best person in science, but you did a bad test, you’re not going to get into that program,” Acosta added.

The two also said they had to take a College Board test in high school as well as the SATs. To get into the public school system that they got accepted into is a challenge for most.

In the United States, students are required to submit SAT or ACT scores depending on the college. Students get either rejected or accepted into colleges based on their test scores, high school GPA and other activities and requirements. Still, students get to choose their major and minor.

Students may not get accepted into programs such as pharmacy or nursing of competitive selection, but in general, the school system in America can be seen as easier.

“The storm was a blessing in disguise for me because I was not studying what I wanted to back home,” Acosta said.

The two also found that Central was more personable, something they did not have back home and had to get used to.

“I feel the classes here are easier because the professors here are better because they are pro-student. They want you to learn. You ask a question [to the professors in Puerto Rico] and they tell you to look it up. Now, [at Central] I don’t ask a question unless I’ve already looked it up because that’s what we’re used to getting,” Acosta said.

Having a healthy student-teacher relationship was also a new experience. Back home, the two said being able to talk to the professor was nearly impossible, but here at Central, the faculty took time to know Estrada and Acosta and even how to pronounce their names correctly.

The two students admitted to feeling pressure by students and faculty, but their success means everything to them.

“I don’t succeed for just myself. I succeed for President Toro,” Acosta said.

“And the faculty. The faculty has done so much for us. We have to succeed,” Estrada added.