Leaving loved ones, moving to a new country and learning a new language can be an overwhelming task. A group of ISU students is helping make the transition easier for a group of immigrants in Hampton.Students from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and Student Center, 2210 Lincoln Way, have been driving more than an hour to the community of Hampton, where a large population of Mexican immigrants live and work. They help with English classes taught at St. Patrick’s church in Hampton, said John Donaghy, a campus minister at St. Thomas. Twice a week, 10 to 20 immigrants come to the class for two hours to improve their English skills. Each ISU student is paired with two or three immigrants, and they speak in English for most of the night. The teachers of the English class said it helps to be able to have small groups so immigrants can practice speaking and listening, Donaghy said.Sometimes they have structured exercises and books they work through; sometimes they just talk in English or role play, said Nate Jacobi, peer minister at St. Thomas. “Once we had an Easter egg hunt to help them learn their directions,” said Jacobi, senior in psychology.”Some of the immigrants are really shy at first, but once you get to talking they really open up,” he said. “It really breaks down barriers. They see that there are Americans who care about them.” Donaghy said he has been impacted by seeing how much the immigrants have given up, in order to help their families. Many have left family in Mexico in order to come to the United States and find work. Most send money they earn back to Mexico to help out their families there, he said. “They are so welcoming of others,” Donaghy said. Many work hard all day and then come to class for two hours at night. “The desire of the people to learn is amazing,” he said.The students started going to help last year, and a group will go to help 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jacobi said. Anyone is welcome to come, he said, whether they know Spanish or not. “A lot of the immigrants know English pretty well, but there have been times when it’s been a challenge to communicate,” Jacobi said.