It’s the little things that make home, home. Little quirks, once skimmed over by college students in their day-to-day life, are now missed when they move from home and enter a new chapter of life.

For University of Kentucky student Anna Bollis, home is the feeling of her cats, Raimundo and Frederico, on her bed while she drifts to sleep, a sentiment connecting Kentucky with her home in São Paulo, Brazil.

A junior studying mechanical engineering and math, Bollis said she has faced both challenges and triumphs during her academic journey as an international student.

According to Bollis, her family has served as a constant anchor in her life and has fully supported her pursuit of an education abroad. Bollis said her father was the one who originally encouraged her to apply to UK, after he “fell in love” with the university during a work trip to Kentucky.

“He was like, ‘If you are applying for international schools, you need to apply to UK,’” Bollis said.

Bollis said her father stayed with her during her first two weeks at UK to help her with the move, organizing her room and shopping for essentials while she attended university events.

“That helped me a lot,” Bollis said. “I could go to orientation and K Week events without worrying about my housing stuff.”

Although most of her time at UK has been filled with newfound friends and opportunities, Bollis said the beginning of her academic career was challenging due to language barrier obstacles.

“I had one month that I literally just went to class, (sat) there and didn’t understand one word,” Bollis said.

In lecture spaces holding hundreds of students, Bollis said she would sometimes feel isolated in her struggles.

“Sometimes I would be surrounded by people and (feel like) I didn’t have anyone to talk to,” Bollis said.

However, the feeling of seclusion eventually disappeared once Bollis found fellow peers in her apartment complex who took the same class and could help with the language barrier.

“When I realized they could help me, that was the moment that I was like, ‘Okay, hey, I can do it. I can handle it,’” Bollis said. “ I would spend five days of the week with them, and I’m so glad that they were there for me.”

That support, along with support from UK’s international student community was something Bollis said was important for her, and has since inspired her to be there for other international students.

Now a member of the International Students Leadership Team, Bollis said she now gets the chance to give students the support she had when entering college, helping them take the first steps in their college careers.

“I want to give them the feeling that I had during my orientation,” Bollis said. “ I want to be the person that will make them feel great.”