Shehan Fernando aiming high for an education in Coffeyville 

Outside of the travel community, most people couldn’t place Sri Lanka on a map until December of 2004 when one of the most devastating Tsunami’s in recent history put the tiny island located south of India on everyone’s radar.  For Coffeyville Community College (CCC) international student, Shehan Fernando, Colombo, Sri Lanka is home. 

A sophomore at CCC, Fernando has spent the past two years studying in Coffeyville.

“In Sri Lanka, we believe the U.S. gives the best higher education in the world,” said Fernando. “This country has more facilities and the U.S. is good in all fields not just a few as in some other countries.” 

As early as he can remember, Fernando has dreamed of flying the skies as a pilot.  His dream is to fly for a commercial airline and he hopes to one day pilot a plane for Sri Lanka Airlines.   

“I can’t think of anything else I want to do,” he said. 

He had applied for scholarships to attend flight school and when he couldn’t afford it, he had to find a cheaper way to get the degree.  The educational path he has chosen is to complete a two year degree, transfer to a four year school for his bachelor’s degree in engineering, work a year to raise money for flight school and then finish in two more years at flight school. 

“I found out that Kansas had affordable colleges and I e-mailed a bunch of the schools in the state.  The best response I got was from Marla Larimore at CCC,” said Fernando.   

Fernando has been academically successful in his studies at CCC and earned a spot in the Phi Theta Kappa Etta Gamma Chapter.  He serves as the International Student Representative and was named the February 2008 Etta Gamma Student of the Month.  He is also active in the International Club and holds a part time job working on campus.

“CCC is a very friendly college and the people in the town are very friendly,” said Fernando.  “It is a peaceful area.” 

Fernando is taking advantage of his time in the U.S. as he has traveled to Pennsylvania, Las Vegas, Maryland, California, Nashville, Tenn. and Atlanta, Georgia.  He hopes to travel more with the Etta Gamma Chapter this spring.  

“Last winter was the first time I’ve ever seen snow,” said Fernando.  “I took photos and sent them to my parents.”

Fernando’s father is an accountant and business man.  His mom has stayed at home to raise Fernando and his older sister.  Both Fernando children are currently studying in the U.S., Shehan in Coffeyville and his sister is a pre-med student in Pennsylvania.  Fernando has visited his sister twice since beginning his studies in the U.S.   

Fernando’s home of Sri Lanka is about the size of the state of New York.  Colombo is the main city and capital of the island.  The middle of the country is made up of mountains.  Sri Lankans speak Sinhalese, but English is the second language. 

“If you want to get a good job, you need to learn English in Sri Lanka,” said Fernando. 

It is hot in Sri Lanka year round.  In addition to being a huge tourist destination, the island is the largest tea exporter in the world. 

“We drink tea all the time in our country,” said Fernando.  “One tea is called milk tea and we drink it in the morning and evening.  We add milk to the tea.” 

“We have lots of elephants in our country and the tourists love to watch them,” said Fernando. “The Asian elephants have small ears compared to African elephants. We have wild safaris in our country.” 

Fernando went to high school in the capital city of Sri Lanka.  St. Peters College (a high school) was an all boys school and considered one of the most “famous” schools in the country.  It is famous because those who go to the school are the ones who “get the good jobs.”  His parents paid for him to attend the school, much like a private school in the U.S. 

Fernando and his family live within a 10 minute walk of the Indian Ocean.  Although the east and southern parts of his country were affected the most by the 2004 Tsunami, Fernando was in his house that morning and watched as the water came up to his house.   

“Everyone in the area left their homes and went inland,” said Fernando.  “We didn’t know what it was.  People were so excited when the water went out and everyone wanted to go out and see the ocean.  The wave came so fast that people couldn’t run away.” 

When he is home, Fernando’s hobbies include swimming and playing Cricket, “the most famous sport in our country,” he said.  “It is like baseball with a flat bat.  I was a bowler (pitcher) and a batsman.”  

International Student, Shehan Fernando, has come half a world away to Coffeyville Community College on his way to an engineering degree and one day a pilot’s license.

Shehan Fernando stands outside his home in Sri Lanka.

The Fernando siblings have both left their country of Sri Lanka to student in the United States – Shehan in Coffeyville, Kansas and his sister in Pennsylvania.