Photo Credit: Stephen Feryus Johannes and Sebastian Jonsson
By Seth Woods and Jennica Lyons
Editor in Chief, Student Life Editor
Many students leave their homes and families behind when they move to college. Few travel 4,000 miles to do so.
Junior Sebastian Jönsson and his brother, sophomore Johannes, grew up in Sweden but moved to the U.S.—Sebastian in 2007 and Johannes in 2008—to attend Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn. The pair transferred to Milligan this semester to play tennis after a friend, sophomore Kody Horne, told them about the school and the tennis program.
So far the Milligan community has made them feel welcome.
“It’s a good place to be,” said Sebastian. “Professors and people here are really friendly.”
The brothers are both studying business administration. Following in the footsteps of their father—a tennis coach—Johannes wants someday to own his own tennis academy.
Sebastian and Johannes said they have not faced much of a language barrier, since they started learning English at age 10. Sebastian said their English has improved greatly in the past couple years.
Sweden is not the only nationality represented on Milligan’s campus. The school has also accepted students from the Bahamas, Canada, Cuba, Ethiopia, Haiti, Finland, France, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Nepal, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and Zambia, among others.
While there hasn’t been a language barrier for the brothers, the U.S. and Sweden are two very different places.
“People here are much more open, much more friendly,” Sebastian said.
The pair is hoping to improve their athletic skills while on the Milligan tennis team. Sebastian wants to work on his serve and Johannes would like to see overall improvement.
Sebastian and Johannes’ parents still live in southwest Sweden, and the pair goes home at Christmas and during the summer to visit.
What would the brothers most like Milligan students to know?
“Switzerland and Sweden are two different countries,” Sebastian said.
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