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Photographs by Greg Helgeson
 Derrick Fernando '06
Path to Macalester: I was going to go to school on the [U.S.] West Coast. I like to surf a little bit and I have family living there. Then I went to the Fulbright Commission and the lady there said Macalester might be a good school for me. When the plane was landing, I saw all the green and the lakes. I was with my uncle and I told him, "I think I'm going to like this place."
Academic life: I had taken a lot of math before, but I took my first econ class and I liked it. A plus at Macalester: you get a great liberal arts education, your econ major is topnotch, but at the same time, business courses that are not offered at Macalester, you can take at other schools.
Special experiences: I had five internships and a job, which was like an internship. I first found out about the internship at Catholic Charities and I was impressed with the work they do to help different groups of people. I learned a lot about computer applications and databases.
 You're on your own here, nobody's behind you to say, "This is what you have to do."
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I got involved with the Minnesota Trade Office because Minnesota was doing a pilot project with Sri Lanka. The Trade Office was pretty happy; I don't think they expected to get a Sri Lankan involved from Minnesota. When my boss went to Sri Lanka, he met up with my parents and had a Sri Lankan meal, and he always talks about that. At D & A Enterprises in Sri Lanka, I just helped them structure their company a little better with what I learned at school.
The job I had with the International Student Program taught me a lot. I did the Web site for them, the handbook. I found out there was no one publication on internationalism at Macalester. I dug up books at the library and at the registrar's office trying to get all this information. Up to that point, 2003, we'd had 170 countries come to Macalester.
What he really learned at Mac: You're on your own here, nobody's behind you to say, "This is what you have to do." In an econ class that I took, "Deals," most of the speakers are distinguished alumni of Macalester--managing directors, vice presidents--it's an amazing list, and they tell you, "Just take the initiative."
Back home, race is not an issue for us. Living in the capital, you're kind of oblivious to the severity of the [ongoing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka]. I went to Catholic high school. We have four major religions--Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism--so even though it's a Catholic school, all four religions are taught. We had six classes of Sinhalese people and one class of Tamil people because they have the option of [classes] conducted in Tamil. But you're on the same drama teams, sports teams, debate teams. [At Mac] I did the Pluralism and Unity program, which made me aware [of race in the United States]. I knew the issues, but not how important they are. When I came here, I understood.
After Macalester: I was fortunate last fall to be offered a job with LarsonAllen, a regional CPA and consulting firm. I was ecstatic. Also, I will be studying for the CPA exam.
Everyone asks me, "So, now are you going to go back to Sri Lanka?" Since I've been at Macalester, I've been trying to go to a new country every year and I have succeeded, and I want to keep that up. To do that, I can't go back to Sri Lanka, because I can't afford it. It would be fun to see all the people I miss, but I want to travel. "Are you ever going to go back to Sri Lanka?" My answer is I'd love to go back home, but I also love to travel.
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