On Monday night, Hampton University opened its doors and embraced students from the Bahamas.
READ MORE: Rihanna vows to send aid to the Bahamas after ‘catastrophic damage’ from Hurricane Dorian
A group of about four-dozen displaced students from the Caribbean island were met by a Hampton University welcome-wagon of sorts who held signs at the airport after they flew in because Hurricane Dorian leave the island in shambles, 13NewsNow reports.
“I hope that God is going to be with us,” one student said. “Because when you think of all the people, all the kindness, all the help they’ve offered us, who don’t know us, the most we can do is repay them with excellence.”
On Tuesday the scholars officially were welcomed in the Student Center Ballroom.
The HBCU’s administrators announced that they would be partnering up with the University of the Bahamas, in order to allow students displaced and disadvantaged by the storm, to spend a fall semester on their campus free of charge.
Read More: Hampton University says twerking has not been banned
University of the Bahamas president, Dr. Rodney Smith, and Hampton University president, Dr. William R. Harvey, came to the agreement to extend the assistance and aid to the affected students. Many residents of the island were impacted by the two-day Category 5 storm which caused at least 30 deaths and a reported $7 billion in damage. It is the strongest recorded storm ever to have hit the island nation.
Hampton University to Offer Free Enrollment, Room & Board to University of the Bahamas Students Displaced by Hurricane Dorian: https://t.co/PMpJXH5RbX pic.twitter.com/um8BQcXRHA
— Hampton University (@_HamptonU) September 5, 2019
“I think this agreement is something that can be helpful to a great number of students and families, and is part of something I’ve tried to do my entire career — helping people to achieve and meet their goals,” Harvey said previously in an official statement on the Hampton University website.
According to details disclosed in the release, students from University of the Bahamas will be able to attend classes at Hampton for the upcoming fall 2019 semester, and will also receive room and board. After the fall semester, students will have the option to either return to the Bahamas, or stay at Hampton once the semester is over, at regular rates for tuition and fees.
Read More: Tyler Perry rescues people from the Bahamas and sends seaplane with supplies