International university students face Christmas like no other this year

But one Wolverhampton University student Ana Carolina González will be making the most of the big day with a meal with her house mates before video calling her family in the Dominican Republic.

Ana is studying for an MSc in Programme and Project Management and has not seen her family since September 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 22-year-old is hoping to finish her dissertation by the end of January and see her family in April, and be in the Dominic Republic for her mother's birthday in May.

Ana said: "I live in a shared house in Newhampton Road West with other students from my country.

"I will see my family in April maybe and come back for my graduation."

As well as Christmas, the pandemic changed Ana's daily life as her lessons went online in March.

"This pandemic changed everything," she added. "It was normal until March, then everything went online. It's totally different.

"I prefer face-to-face lessons but because of the situation it's good that they have mixed learning.

"We do Secret Santa with my family, I'm still able to join in I've sent some presents."

And the university is offering all international students staying in the halls a free roast dinner and a goodie bag with festive treats.

Tim Steele, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “This academic year continues to be very different for everyone as we live through significant changes in our society.

“We recognise that this is an extremely unusual time to be a student and we realise that the festive break may be challenging for some of our international students who have been unable to return home due to travel restrictions.

“In partnership with the Students' Union, we recently launched our ‘Light the Way’ campaign, bringing together all the aspects of support available for students over the festive period. The most important thing is that the university will remain open – albeit on a smaller scale – to ensure that there is a place for them to study, with refreshments available for them.

“We have also created a dedicated webpage which includes information about a range of festive events, library opening times, how students can access mental health and wellbeing support as well as emergency contact details. We will also be sharing regular messages of support on our social media channels.

“We’re providing goodie bags for international students staying in halls with a number of sweet treats for the festive period, along with offering a free roast dinner for all students staying in our halls of residence on Christmas Eve – allowing them to experience some of the more normal Christmas traditions.”