University of Northampton International College student braves hurricanes to start law course

A new student at the University of Northampton International College (UNIC) has spoken about how disaster movie weather didn’t stop him from enrolling on his Foundation in Law programme.

Llnnall Ayre Emanuel, from Dominica, found himself in the eye of the storm as Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean last month.

Maria went on to flood Llnnall’s apartment, destroy many of his belongings and left him with no power to finalise his enrolment and visa application.

Llnnall and some of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

The UNIC admissions team kept in touch with him throughout his travails to grant an extension to his application as he pieced his home life back together. He managed to make it to Northampton in time for his final enrolment date.

Llnnall, who wishes to go on to study for a full degree in Law with the University of Law, said: “Despite the arduous journey getting to the UK, I received the warmest and most wonderful welcome from UNIC. It felt like meeting a new family and it has been like that ever since.

“After the hurricane struck, it would have been so easy for me to feel sorry for myself, give up and defer my studies in the UK, but I stayed positive and it paid off.

“My message to students facing difficulties is to never give up. If I can survive this and still get to the UK then you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Craig McIlwain, College Director/Principal said: “Llnnal’s incredible feat of endurance living through and dealing with the aftermath of disaster is matched by his commitment to getting his studies started with us. We are proud to have him enrolled as a UNIC student.”

UNIC is part of the leading global education provider Navitas’ group of UK colleges and offers Foundation, First Year and Pre-masters Programmes in a range of subjects. As an Associate College of the University, UNIC is based in the University of Northampton’s Park Campus and has just celebrated its one year anniversary.

During its first year of operation UNIC has welcomed nearly 200 international students from over 30 different countries.

Read more about Llannal’s experiences on his blog.

Students who are interested in courses at UNIC can look at their website or follow their Facebook and Twitter pages.