On May 3, Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy following years of recession and a total cumulative debt of 73 billion US dollars. Four months later, as Hurricane María wiped out all infrastructure, the repair costs were estimated at 80 billion US dollars.

Clearly, Puerto Rico cannot afford the administrative and repair costs anymore. Hurricane María, the worst natural disaster in the history of the island, destroyed shelters, shut down schools and displaced families. As a result, suicide rates have spiked by 29% within a year. Within just three months, from November 2016 to January 2017, there were 882 reported suicide attempts, while the number of suicide attempts from November 2016 to January 2018 was estimated to be around 3050.

According to Ivenneth Padilla, a 21-year old from Orocovis, a municipality in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, the island was hit by two consecutive hurricanes.

“The first one was Irma, it had some devastating effects yet not as serious. We had to leave university in early September. We later on came back for a week and were alerted immediately to go back home because Maria was due to strike in about three days. We spent a month without going to classes. Then my home institution, Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, organized their staff to provide us with what little education they could until the semester was over on the first week of December,” said Padilla.

Following the disaster, professors left the island, cancelling courses and causing delays in graduation dates. As a result, several US American universities offered an opportunity for student victims of the Hurricane to spend a guest semester on their campuses as visiting students. Following this period, the beneficiary Puerto Rican students are expected to return to their home universities. On top of this list are New York University which hosted around 57 students and Brown, which hosted around 30 students.

As Universidad del Sagrado Corazón could no longer offer much to its students under these imposed circumstances, Padilla joined NYU in the hope of saving her academic future.

“I was trying to find a way to secure my next semester. It was dangerous for my career. As a senior, I missed all the deadlines because of the Hurricane. Then, my cousin called me in late November telling me that there was the Hurricane María Assistance Program by NYU in New York. I had to get in. This was my only chance to move forward successfully. It took all my efforts to submit everything perfectly. I gathered all information regarding my academic position, transcripts, GPA, course needs... and submitted an essay explaining how Hurricane María had affected me on a personal and academic level as well as what I desired to accomplish once at NYU,” said Padilla.

Coral Murphy and Jessica Ortiz, 20-year old students from Manati and Gurabo in Puerto Rico, joined Brown University through a similar program. On Oct. 24, they left Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus (UPR-RP) where they were enrolled in the Honors Program, to spend a semester at Brown. Murphy and Ortiz learnt about the opportunity through an email from the director of their program in Puerto Rico.

“I received the email on Oct. 12. Thankfully, I was working in the metropolitan area, since my job is located there. During this time, it was the place I could get cell phone signal, located about an hour away from my home... This is how I managed to receive the email, fill out the application and send my College Board scores,” said Murphy.

“I had to submit an application and send my transcripts from UPR. I also sent my transcripts from high school, just in case they needed them. The Brown application was very straightforward. I had to give my personal information and explain briefly, although not mandatory, how I was holding up back at Puerto Rico,” added Ortiz.

Since their enrollment at NYU and Brown, Padilla, Murphy and Ortiz have maintained their excellent academic standing.

“Last semester I was able to get straight As in my courses. This semester, that is also my goal. I would not say I am having a hard time with English, but I prefer talking in Spanish. I think it is the case for most of the Puerto Ricans my age. I think it is because we are a territory of the United States that we tend to speak English frequently back in Puerto Rico. In a certain way, we grew up ‘kind of’ americanized. We tend to ‘code switch’ a lot from Spanish to English in our daily conversations, meaning English has always been part of us,” said Ortiz.

Murphy, who is a Journalism student, seems to enjoy her classes. However, she is unsure about how UPR-RP will count her credit classes at Brown.

“The professors in Brown were nice enough to let me integrate into the class mid-semester, and although I had to catch up with the material, I managed to enroll in journalism classes, which is what I study, and everything was flexible. The classes have shown me more about the different global aspects of the profession, since the UPR-RP focuses mainly on Puerto Rican journalism. Upon my return to Puerto Rico, the UPR-RP will evaluate how each class I took in Brown will be validated. Depending on that, I will see how many credits I have left to graduate,” added Murphy.

Given the current conditions in Puerto Rico where water and power are limited and the federal government’s effort is slow and unsuccessful, life in New York and Rhode Island seems more comfortable. Yet, homesickness can be a real challenge.

“I am very good with being strong and independent. Yet, it is difficult to leave behind my family, especially my two younger brothers, in such a terrible time. Puerto Rico is not okay and still needs help,” confessed Padilla. “Being away from them hurts the most.”

Ortiz struggles with her identity after having moved to Rhode Island.

“I am struggling to be the authentic Jessica. It has nothing to do with the university, my professors or peers, it is about the process of internalizing that I am not in Puerto Rico anymore. Most of my personality relies in speaking Spanish no matter how well I dominate English. I watched American movies on college life and used to visit the US in summer. I thought that we were not very different and that I understood, at least in a macro way, the American lifestyle. It is only when I came here that I thought maybe we are a little different. But that is a good challenge,” added Ortiz.

As the students’ families are all still back in Puerto Rico, the hope for the island is to recover soon and start operating. Meanwhile, Padilla, Murphy and Ortiz are fully covered by the scholarship program of their US American host universities.

“We are still expected to pay our home tuition [as] not to affect the educational economy in Puerto Rico. Our families’ income was greatly affected [by the storm], but we are managing,” said Padilla.