By Guy McClure
Guest Writer
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The traditional student body at Athens State University is comprised mostly of undergraduates from the North Alabama/Southern Tennessee area, with an occasional student from as far away as Atlanta or Mobile.
But this semester brings four students who are originally from Nepal to the Athens campus. They are four of 10 international students currently studying at Athens State.
The Nepali students in Athens State’s College of Business — Aashish Shrestha, Beni Malla, Subin Shrestha and Shabnam Shrestha — have found each other and are sharing campus life and adapting to the Tennessee Valley.
“I had lived in the area a few years ago before moving to New Jersey,” said Aashish. “I loved it so much I decided to return and attend Athens State.”
Nepal, a land-locked country in South Asia, is home to the Himalaya Mountains and is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture, and religions. Three of the four students moved from Nepal to the Tennessee Valley just a few weeks ago.
Although three of the students share the last name of Shrestha, they are not related. “The surname Shrestha in Nepal is equivalent to Smith in America,” Aashish said. “It is a coincidence, but not unheard of to hear the name many times in a group.”
All four students expect to graduate in 2012 with degrees in either accounting or management.
