When an April 5 earthquake shook down buildings in L'Aquila, Italy, it also destroyed all but a few buildings on the campus of the University of L'Aquila. The 27,000-student school couldn't function and students would be left without classes for a year.
So, a call went out from the National Italian American Foundation to American schools to give the students a full year's scholarship while L'Aquila is rebuilt.
Incline Village's Sierra Nevada College responded.
Along with the University of Miami, Villanova University and the University of New Mexico, SNC pitched in to bring 24 of the Italian students to Lake Tahoe. The price tag wasn't cheap, $600,000 for the students, but SNC came up with the amount on the persistence of Vice President Madylon Meiling, who President Bob Maxson credits with the success.
"Madylon is the hero in all of this," Maxson said. "She raised the money, getting $5,000 here, $50,000 there. I give her full credit."
Maxson said the students, mostly sophomores, juniors and seniors, interviewed with SNC's admissions staff to determine their English language proficiency and to see if their studies matched the school's curriculum.
"We interviewed every single one of them to determine if SNC had the courses to match their studies with the hope those courses will transfer if they choose to go back at the end of the school year," Maxson said.
Integration into an American campus isn't always easy, Maxson said, because for many of the students this fall will mark their first extended stay abroad.
"You know, for a lot of these kids - most of them - they probably won't go home until Christmas break," Maxson said. "The biggest challenge for international students and the thing we try to pay attention to is to make sure they don't get homesick, their challenge is always getting used to the cultural differences."
The students are expected to arrive on campus Monday and will meet with admissions counselors to determine their coursework for the school year.
With an incoming freshman class projected between 140 and 160, Maxson said the addition of the Italian students could top SNC's largest-ever incoming class, the 2008-09 freshman class, which totaled 163. He said he expects more exact enrollment numbers by the beginning of the school year later this month.