Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Stirmell is triple-majoring in psychology, anthropology, and Spanish. This summer, she secured an opportunity to study abroad in Quito, Ecuador, the country’s capital. She’s taking six courses in Spanish at the Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA) while she’s there.

“I went into this opportunity first and foremost hoping to gain better Spanish proficiency,” Stirmell said. “My Spanish speaking has tremendously improved in just a couple of months of being here. I also wanted to gain more personal skills such as independence, confidence in my academics, and experience in traveling.”

Southeast and UDLA have a relationship as exchange programs, giving students perfect opportunities to spend semesters immersed in another country. Southeast has similar exchange programs in 20 total countries across the world.

Stirmell is will continue her education to pursue a master’s degree after graduating in the spring.

“Studying abroad has and will help me develop and gain soft skills necessary for any career,” Stirmell said. “In addition to this, my ability to speak Spanish and understand and appreciate cultures aside from my own will help me too.”

She’s fully immersed while in Ecuador. Stirmell is living with a woman named Roció, who is helping her adjust to life in Quito and learn new cultural skills. She’s working on learning about the community, sustainable tourism, and overall development of the areas she’s in.

Her experience this summer started with her work at Southeast with Dr. Kimberly Louie, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Modern Languages.

“Dr. Louie is an amazing professor who helped me get started with preparations and encouraged me to study abroad,” Stirmell said. “The study abroad exchange program at SEMO has truly helped me come out of my shell a little bit and experience and learn in ways I never thought I would have before.”