Corrections/Clarifications: An earlier version of this article misstated information surrounding Gusmini’s recruitment to Geneseo, the type of program her mother enrolled in and her opinions of Geneseo food. Those details have been clarified or corrected.
Biology major freshman Ana Clara Amorim Da Silva Gusmini has led a fascinating life, as she has lived in three different countries and can already speak multiple languages.
Gusmini speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish and English. She moved from Rio, Brazil to Canada in 2014 before moving to Rochester, N.Y. for her senior year of high school because her mother enrolled in a dental program there. She lived in Rochester with her parents and two younger siblings before attending Geneseo.
Gusmini decided to come to Geneseo because she heard many great things about it through her high school.
“I’m a tennis player, and the club that I play … one of the coaches was actually the coach from [Geneseo]. He recruited me, and I heard really good things about Geneseo throughout my high school experience,” Gusmini said. “Everyone talked about Geneseo.”
Gusmini plans to study at Geneseo for all four years and then will remain in America to attend dental school. She likes almost everything about the school.
Once she is done with all of her schooling, Gusmini says she will move back to Canada, as that is her home country now. She plans on visiting her family that is still in Brazil but does not plan on moving back there.
Gusmini did not know any English before moving to Canada, so she had to adapt very quickly; she loves learning about new cultures and languages. Gusmini also said that Brazil and America differ very much from each other in relation to the countries’ safety.
“I love learning new things, I love learning new languages and it was just really cool for me to move to Canada and then to America … I assimilated really quickly,” Gusmini said. “I didn’t leave my culture behind, of course not. I still celebrate everything, and I still know my values … but I also added onto it a little bit more.”
Gusmini explained that living in both Canada and America has been a very positive experience because it has given her opportunities that she would not have had otherwise.
“I like the opportunities that [both countries] give everyone,” Gusmini said. “I have two younger siblings … my sister is going to be able to have a better experience than I did with college applications and stuff because I was so rushed into it, I didn’t know what to do.”
Moving so many times has helped Gusmini to learn more about the world around her, and has taught her to keep an open mind about all of the cultures that exist in the world.