TIn 1995, when the Energy Institute of the Americas was established at the Sarkeys Energy Center, Yoana Walschap a Colombia residing in Norman was named the assistant to the director. Her job however, started in Colombia for the first two months. During this time she contacted the universities that had petroleum engineering departments and between 1996 and 1997, OU signed the first four cooperation agreements with Colombian universities: National University in Medellin, Santander Industrial University in Bucaramanga, SurColombiana University in Neiva and America University in Bogota. In 1997 the first two students arrived as exchange students; few years later, more agreements were signed with Universidad El Bosque, Universidad de Cartagena (medicine) and Universidad de Los Andes. In 1994 there were only 5 Colombian students at OU and by 2001 there were already around 66 students. (See Table with figures taken from: International Students Report, Fall 2008. Prepared by Institutional Research and Reporting at OU). These figures do not include the exchange students, so it is necessary to add an average of 15 more students from the year 2000 and up. The increasing number of students provided the critical mass of people to have an organized association, and to build on the activities that were already taking place informally, and led by a group of Colombians from the general community such as Claudia Barajas, Claudia Tamayo Jury, Alba Janeth Villamil and Yoana Walschap.

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The Colombian Student Association (COLSA) at the University of Oklahoma was founded in the summer of 2001, by the initiative of two people: undergraduate petroleum engineer student Andrea Alba and Yoana Walschap. Walschap and her group of friends had been organizing events for many years in Norman since her arrival on 1990, such as the Independence Day celebration at Westwood Park, the Novenas de Navidad at Christmas time, and the Mobile Consulate of Colombia (twice a year). By 2001 the Colombian community at OU was growing rapidly too because of the success of the exchange programs and the need for an association was getting stronger and stronger.
The first year for COLSA was very intensive and most funding came from memberships and outside sponsors from the Colombian community. Andrea Alba’s leadership as President was superb and after the first Colombia Night, COLSA was awarded the prize for best ‘small” student association, and best President. Yoana Walschap became the advisor and liaison between COLSA and the also newly established Asociación Recordemos a Colombia en Oklahoma (ARCO).

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At the same time that COLSA was established, the same group of Colombians mentioned above, created another association that was called ARCO. COLSA members were part of ARCO and the first year ARCO sponsored COLSA scholarships and the T-shirts. Our first fundraising was done during the Colombian Independence Day Party at MANGOS Restaurant in Oklahoma City.
After three years of the establishment of these two organizations, ARCO was dismantled and OU students through COLSA took the leadership of the Colombian activities in the state of Oklahoma. For more details on COLSA activities the following years, please go to the links by academic year.