Andrés Quintanilla Bellucci placed one hand over his new green MSU hat to keep it from blowing away as he used the other to focus his digital camera on Beaumont Tower.

After visiting the notable landmark, Andrés, 19, and his father walked with a group of more than 70 prospective students and their families to the next destination on the routine admissions tour Tuesday.

But routine tours usually don't include the son of the vice president of El Salvador.

Carlos Quintanilla Schmidt, who has been vice president of the Massachusetts-sized country for five years, brought his son to take one last look at MSU's campus before he commits to attend in the fall.

"It seems to be a very big campus, but you can find everything," Vice President Quintanilla said. "We're happy to be here."

Andrés hopes to major in agribusiness management and eventually attend MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.

"He loves animals," Vice President Quintanilla said, adding that his son already has two of his own businesses: beekeeping and raising rabbits for pets and food. "He likes agribusiness management, but he likes veterinary medicine the best."

Andrés said he has always known he wanted to attend a university in the United States. He has been accepted at both MSU and Penn State University and is still waiting to hear back from Virginia Technological University. But he said he's fairly certain he'll attend MSU.

The public universities in El Salvador are highly competitive and can't meet the demand for the number of students who want to attend. They also aren't at the same educational level as a school in the United States, Andrés said.

"(U.S. colleges) have a lot of technological advances," he said.

Romelia Polanco Widders, senior counselor of international admissions in the MSU Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said she hopes Andrés' interest in the school will encourage other El Salvadoran students to come to MSU.

"If we can get Andrés to come here, and it sounds like he is, it would give MSU instant credibility in the country," she said. "It's been a hard thing to penetrate that market."

She said Andrés isn't the only one who will benefit from his attendance at MSU.

"We learn not only from textbooks, but with our interaction with other people," she said. "You don't have to go out of the United States to have a global experience."

The father and son drove nine hours from Washington, D.C., where Vice President Quintanilla's wife was recovering from breast cancer surgery, to spend the day on campus. She's expected to make a full recovery.

After the tour, they met with several other Latin American students for lunch in Case Hall.

In the cafeteria, the students offered Andrés several pieces of advice. Most importantly, they said, he needed to stock up on El Salvadoran cuisine - especially beans.

But Andrés said he didn't mind the food. Neither did his father, who, as he chewed on a smiley-face french fry, said he thought "the food was very good."

During lunch, they had time to meet up with Diego Calder-n, an agribusiness management freshman who also was from El Salvador. Calder-n's uncle, Armando Calder-n, is a former president of the country, and the two families are longtime friends. Vice President Quintanilla's coffee plantation is even located next to Calder-n's farm in El Salvador.

"I'm proud that my vice president took the time to come here," Calder-n said. "It'll make a good impression on MSU in El Salvador."

Although Calder-n said his friend will have no problem fitting in on the campus, the weather will take some time for him to get used to.

"It's going to be a shock for him," Calder-n said, laughing.

El Salvador has a daily average of 85-90 degrees, Vice President Quintanilla said.

"We bring the warm weather to Michigan," he said, laughing about how the 50-degree day was one of the warmest in Michigan's spring.

And it was the weather, Andrés said, that was his only qualm when he was deciding to come to MSU. He wore a heavy winter coat as he walked around campus Tuesday, despite the warmer temperatures.

Ana Vides, an international relations freshman who joined Andrés for lunch, said she also was surprised by Michigan's harsh winters.

"When I first got here in August, I was wearing a sweater when all the other girls were outside getting suntans," she said. "But you get used to it."

After lunch, Andrés and his father met briefly with MSU President M. Peter McPherson and Provost Lou Anna Simon.

Vice President Quintanilla had a week off from his work for Easter, and took the opportunity to take his son to MSU.

"This is the only chance I have to be a normal person," he said. Normally, he would be surrounded by security, but he and his son were able to walk through campus without being bothered.

Although Andrés said nothing scares him about coming to MSU, his father said he's nervous about his son being thousands of miles away.

"Kids, they do not leave at 18," he said. "Parents are always supporting them."

As the tour came to a close, Vice President Quintanilla looked out at Spartan Stadium and placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"So you will become a Spartan," he said.

Amy Bartner can be reached at bartnera@msu.edu.