Carlos Bogaert came to SMU by way of the Dominican Republic and Connecticut because he had heard that we were all really nice down here.

“I wanted more of a southern culture,” said Bogaert, a junior business major and member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Bogaert grew up in tight-knit family with white beaches as his backyard. As academics became more important to him, he knew that the U.S. was where he needed to be.

“I wanted a better education and to learn English,” he said. Bogaert enrolled into Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, where he stayed for four years as a boarding student.

Over the years, he was able to perfect his English and adapt to the American culture but, he wanted to expand his knowledge and spend time in the south.

Once at SMU, the biggest difference that he noticed between Connecticut and Dallas were the people.

“I was taken back by how nice people are over here. Everyone makes you feel so at home,” he said.

His best friend since freshman year, Mikey McKinnon, who is a junior and fraternity brother, recalls Bogaert’s first experience at In-N-Out. “We decided it would be really funny to walk through the drive-though. The cashier didn’t find it quite as humorous.”

As great as it is here in the south, Bogaert tries to get back to the Dominican Republic whenever possible.

“Carlos took a bunch of us home with him earlier this year and showed us how to really do the D.R.,” said Elizabeth Williamson, a junior communications major and close friend of Bogaert’s.

Bogaert says that his parents would love nothing more than for him to return back home after graduation but he has plans of his own. Bogaert, however, wants to stay here in Dallas and pursue a career in business.

“I just love everything about it here. I have made so many good friends in the U.S., I wouldn’t want to leave them behind.”