Class Year: 2025 
Major/Minor: International Relations & Economics
Program: CIEE Seville IBC, Spain
Identities I can speak to students about:
Student athlete; Mental health;
Program specific experiences I can speak about:
Homestay
Favorite experience:
My favorite experience definitely has to be living in a homestay. I lived with a roommate and an elderly Spanish women. She was very old-fashioned and made it seem like a true home. The memories I have living in that household I will hold onto for the rest of my life
What course/internship experience during your global study semester allowed you to learn something new and exciting?
I took an international communications course when in Seville. The course was different than most Academic courses, I learned communication skills that I still use to this day. We would constantly have Spanish residents come into class and talk about the differences that exist between us and them and how we can still learn to love and foster peace even when having different cultural backgrounds, and languages. We also took a trip to the Moroccan, and Spanish border to talk about the constant flow of immigrants from Morocco to Spain and how each side views the issue.
How have your global studies related to one of the 7 Enduring Skills?
Studying abroad in Spain was one of the most challenging—and rewarding—experiences of my life. It pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t expect, especially when it came to adaptability. From the moment I moved into a homestay with an 84-year-old Spanish woman who spoke no English, I had to figure out how to navigate daily life in a completely different way. She cooked all my meals, and while they were delicious, I had no clue what half of the dishes were at first. Communicating with her was an adventure in itself, relying on a mix of hand gestures, Google Translate, and my slowly improving Spanish.
Adapting didn’t stop at home. A few of my professors didn’t speak English either, so I had to adjust to lectures where I didn’t understand every word. I started asking more questions (in Spanish!), leaning on classmates, and figuring things out as I went. At first, it felt overwhelming, but I slowly learned to trust myself and let go of the need to have everything perfectly under control.
Traveling was another test of my adaptability. One day, a bus I was on broke down in Bruges, Belgium, leaving us stuck for three hours. Instead of letting it ruin the day, my friends and I made the most of it. We played games, shared stories, and got creative to keep the mood light. By the time the bus was back up and running, it felt like one of the highlights of the trip—a reminder that sometimes the best memories come from the unexpected.
Looking back, my time abroad was less about mastering Spanish or visiting famous landmarks and more about learning to adapt to whatever came my way. Whether it was communicating with my host mom, adjusting to different teaching styles, or making the best of a broken-down bus, I learned to stay calm, think creatively, and embrace the unexpected. Those lessons will stick with me forever—and I’m so grateful for them