Home Away from Home: Jesus Serna Illescas

By Sofia Santiago

Jesus Serna Illescas is always ready for an adventure. Although he is only in New Jersey for one semester, he is determined to make the most of his time at Rider. 

As an English marketing major in his third year at Universidad Europea de Valencia in Spain, studying abroad in an English-speaking country is essential for both his academic and professional career. 

Since high school, Serna Illescas knew he wanted to study in an English-speaking country because of his passion for communications and his excitement to step out of what was familiar to him. 

“I really like everything related to economics and how you communicate with other people. My main idea was to study specialist communications, which is communications dedicated to economics and different parts of it,” Serna Illescas said.

Once he graduated from high school, he applied to universities in the U.S. and moved to the U.K. for nine months to learn the language.

“[At the time,] I didn’t know any English at all. How do I learn English? Go to the closest place that they speak it. So I just went. If you don’t learn English in the U.K., you won’t learn it anywhere else,” he explained. “Back at that time, I was really bad at communicating myself. So [I thought], when I improve that part, I will be stronger in other places.”

Eventually, he found the marketing program, taught almost entirely in English. “I think in my class, there’s only one or two guys that are actually from Spain. The others are from Poland, Nigeria, Japan … It’s like the United Nations,” Serna Illescas said.

Because of his experiences in the U.K. and his interactions with international classmates, the transition to a new language and a different culture was not difficult for Serna Illescas. 

“You get used to it. You have to adapt a little bit to the language barriers. Communication is the biggest thing, because when you speak in another language, you have to think in that language. You don’t have time to translate it,” he shared. Serna Illescas is trilingual; fluent in English, Spanish and Valencian, a dialect of Catalan.

His home university offers exchange programs, and among the options available, Rider was his top choice.

“I like that it’s really small. The teachers can actually be close to you and talk with you,” he said. Serna Illescas’ home campus is spread around the city, meaning that one building could be six miles away from another, with most students living off-campus.

“Now I can say that I’m living university life for the first time,” he said.  

In Spain, he goes to his department’s building for classes that take place anywhere from around 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., then Serna Illescas explained that, typically, “you just go back home, and you just do your own life.”

Serna Illescas played a variety of sports since childhood, both in and out of school, and currently in Valencia, he is part of a club soccer team.

Along with the 15 credits of classes he is taking, Serna Illescas has been engaging in the Rider community as much as possible by joining multiple intramural sports teams and winning both the intramural futsal, similar to indoor soccer, and basketball championships. It is through these activities that he has been able to meet friends at Rider.

Senior graphic design major Juan Perez met Serna Illescas on move-in day, and the two have been close friends ever since. Perez invited Serna Illescas to stay with him in his hometown over spring break. The two enjoy playing cards, watching movies, playing pool and attending American sporting events that Serna Illescas has never been to before, such as lacrosse and ice hockey.

These experiences are what Serna Illescas says give him, “The feeling that home is not only a place back with all your family, which it is, but [also one that] you can make in your own path. That’s something that Rider makes me notice.”

“[Serna Illescas is] a very dedicated individual. Once he puts his mind to something, he really wants to go and shoot for it,” Perez said. 

Since February, Serna Illescas has been training for a half marathon that he plans to run on April 4 in Philadelphia.

“The thing about running is, like, you can do it actually anywhere,” he explained.

Serna Illescas had previously participated in triathlons and track and field, but had to stop due to other responsibilities. Since coming to Rider, however, he has been able to push himself out of his comfort zone and reignite his love for running.

Serna Illescas explained his adventurous mentality, “The earlier you go out of your bubble, the more comfortable you are going to be in any other aspect of your life. And I learned that [being] uncomfortable and going to other places is going to change your mindset. … You’re going to have bad times, but that’s what the experience is about, and after that, it’s going to be life changing.”

This article is part of the Home Away From Home series by The Rider News to highlight international students from the OIE.