Averett University welcomes hundreds of new students each and every year.

This year, with the challenges of the new Covid-19 strand and previous Covid-19 challenges, Averett University has still managed to draw in a large cohort of freshmen students.

“We landed at 297 new students this fall.  This is down from last year, and there are many reasons why we were down, but COVID played a major factor in this,” Joel Nester, director of admissions and international counselor said.

Other private colleges in Virginia are also seeing COVID affect the admission of new students.

Despite enrolling fewer new students than last year, Averett enrolled a record number of international students adding to the university’s already diverse culture.

“These 41 students are represented by 28 countries,” Nester said. “Forty-one is the largest number of international students Averett has enrolled in one year.”

In addition to enrolling more international students than ever before, Averett welcomed its first ever student from Namibia.

“It feels amazing and I’m truly honored to be the first student to come from Namibia and to represent it,” Megan Kitago Ruby Lombardt, majoring in business management said, “I was given a scholarship to (attend) and I wanted to boost my tennis career.”

Even in the tough times, it is clear that Averett University has great communication skills with their prospective students.

“I was looking for a university that looked appealing in regards to tennis and also academics,” Mattes Wobbeler, a freshman majoring in business administration from Germany, said. “Averett gave me a really good first impression and I had the feeling that I am really welcomed at Averett, even though I wasn’t even there yet.”

Even with the challenges of Covid-19 still lingering, Averett University has had countless meetings and developed and redeveloped strategies to make Averett a safe and welcoming place.

“We are all trying to navigate through these times the best we can,” Nester said. “I feel really good about the direction Averett is heading and we have great plans heading into this next recruiting cycle.”