A Long Way from Home

Bluefield College is located in the rural mountains of Southwest Virginia, a relatively quiet area. The school is known for its small campus and lower number of students in the classroom. And while secluded and small, BC is home to students from all over the country and even around the world.

Axel Johansson is one of those students, a sophomore from Javrebyn, Sweden. A graphic communications major who came to Bluefield College to focus on soccer and academics, Johansson was drawn to Bluefield by the recommendation of his agent. A lot of students are drawn to Bluefield because of the opportunity to continue to play competitive sports at the collegiate level.

Bluefield College offers students the chance to play collegiate sports while not giving up anything on the academic level. Mattison Stokes is a senior who came all the way from California to continue her dream of playing soccer.

There are others factors that draw students to Bluefield College. Andre Gabriel Souza Avila Amara is from Brazil. He said he heard about BC through a family friend. He’s a freshman at the college majoring in psychology, and he said he attributes the reason for coming to college in Southwest Virginia to God.

“God told me to come to Bluefield,” Amara said, “that’s all there really is to it.”

One thing remains evident: Even though Bluefield has a smaller campus and lacks some of the amenities of larger universities, it is still able to offer students exactly what they need, whether it be to continue their sport dreams, pursue a career passion or respond to a call from God.