There’s no place like home.
For student Lisa Lech, the comforts of home are approximately 3,700 miles away from Fitchburg State University.
Lech hails from Stuttgart, Germany, and is an international student who studied abroad for the fall semester at Fitchburg State.
The 21-year-old was a three-year commuter student and online media management major at her home university of Stuttgart Media University (the course of study is called "Online-Medien-Management" in German), which is a partner university with Fitchburg State.
Lech was poised to confront many of the same challenges that international students face while studying abroad, including homesickness, culture shock, and a reluctance to ask for help.
But Lech fought each and every day to find a sliver of comfort, eventually made strong friendships, adjusted to life on campus and grew to love her experience so much that she decided to stay and study for another semester this spring.
“I think part of why I didn’t feel connected to the community was because I always knew my time was limited and very short, only a couple of months, and I’d have to go back home,” said Lech. “So I think it was really important for me to have more time just to make it easier for me to get more friendships and to really be part of the community. I started to appreciate all the people around. The faculty is so nice and all of the staff. I really started to feel like this is my second home. That was a big change.”
Executive Director of International Education Nelly Wadsworth said she and her co-workers in the Office of International Education (OIE) are so proud of Lech and countless other international students for fighting the temptation of going back home, growing stronger, getting comfortable in their new university and prospering as a Fitchburg State student.
“Students like Lisa remind us why our work matters,” said Wadsworth. “International students bring courage, curiosity, and openness to our campus, and when they trust us enough to let us be part of their journey, it’s truly an honor. Witnessing their growth, especially when it begins from a place of struggle, reinforces the importance of a compassionate, student-centered OIE. It’s something I’m grateful for every single day.
“Lisa’s decision to stay another semester is something I’m incredibly proud of,” said Wadsworth. “For someone who once felt ready to pack her bags and go home, her growth – socially, emotionally, and academically – has been remarkable. Watching her overcome her early fears and eventually find joy and belonging on campus has been genuinely inspiring. I’m proud of her resilience, of course, but I’m also deeply proud of my staff and our American student leaders who supported her every step of the way. Their guidance played a meaningful role in helping her build confidence and recognize that this experience was worth continuing.”
Getting there was an adjustment, however.
“At the beginning, it was really hard for me, and the experience of being in a place that I’ve never been before and not knowing anyone was really a strange feeling,” said Lech. “It was a hard transition because I’ve always been around my family, and it changed so suddenly, that was really hard. I came one-and-a-half weeks before school started, so the campus was really empty and there was really nothing to do. There was a lot of sitting in my dorm and being by myself, which was not a great time.”
And near daily phone calls home started right away.
The doubts of studying abroad entered Lech’s mind over and over.
“I was very unsure of what I was doing,” she said. “I really missed home and also having people around me. I live in the townhouses and I was all by myself in the apartment. There was a lot of alone time and it was hard to cope with that in the beginning.”
Lech’s parents gave their daughter sound advice during this difficult transition time.
“They said that I should give it time and everything will be alright,” said Lech. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
Within the first two or three weeks, Lech said that she started feeling comfortable and the doubts of leaving home dissipated.
“As soon as classes started and events started, it became a lot easier,” said Lech.
It also helped that Lech was introduced to the freshmen orientation leaders, and that assisted in connecting with fellow Falcons.
“That brought me out there and lent me to meeting a lot of new people and I made a lot of friends through that, so that was really great,” said Lech.
Over time, Lech said that she continued to “find my people” and found more and more friends.
Our goal is to be the first ‘safe space’ international students find at Fitchburg State, a place where they are heard without judgment and supported without hesitation. Whether they need help with academics, immigration requirements, cultural transitions, or simply want a familiar face to talk to, OIE is where students come to breathe, regroup, and feel that they truly matter. We aim to ensure that international students do more than simply arrive; we want them to feel connected, supported, and welcomed from day one. Many ultimately treat our office as a second home, which is something we value deeply. We may be a small team, but we are a mighty one, and student support sits at the heart of everything we do.
One of those friends was senior educational studies major Adriana Padilla Salgado, of Fitchburg, who is heavily involved on campus, including being an orientation leader and member of the popular Dance Club.
“I knew that Lisa wanted to join the Dance Club so that’s how I started the conversation,” said Padilla Salgado, who said she was asked by Administrative Assistant Arianna Robichaud in the OIE to visit and welcome international students to the university. “That’s how we started talking. It’s always nerve wracking at first because you’re meeting someone from somewhere else.”
Padilla Salgado said that it was natural for her to try to make Lech feel as comfortable as she could because she felt the same jitters over the summer while studying abroad in Japan.
“I knew that she was probably feeling scared and nervous because she’s without her family and friends, and I wanted her to have someone that she could ask questions to and someone that could be there for her,” said Padilla Salgado. “We exchanged social media and told her any questions she has to please reach out to me.”
Padilla Salgado said that she knew there were times that Lech was feeling a bit homesick and that she felt so bad and didn’t want her to feel that way.
“In those moments, I even shared stories with her of how I felt in certain moments of loneliness just so she didn’t feel like the only person feeling that way,” said Padilla Salgado.
From there, Padilla Salgado jumped into action and started inviting Lech to various events, including football games.
“I also asked her if she wanted to study and we started doing study sessions in the study rooms in the library and if she wanted someone to join her for dinner,” said Padilla Salgado. “I wanted to get to know her and I wanted her to get to know me and my friends.”
These interactions were the springboard to Lech forming a true friendship with Padilla Salgado. That bond magnified as Lech followed her passion and also joined the Dance Club.
“I became a part of the Dance Club, which was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” said Lech, who danced ballet professionally in Germany. “That helped me because I got to meet a lot of new people. We also share a passion – they love to dance and I love to dance. It’s very easy to connect when you share something like that. They are all very nice; I love Dance Club. I really appreciate the opportunity here to continue to dance.”
Lech said that she is excited to be a teacher in the Dance Club next semester.
Padilla Salgado said she truly believes that the Dance Club played a monumental role in helping Lech acclimate to campus life.
“She was nervous to start dance, but once auditions started rolling and she got into those classes that she wanted to get into, she met a lot of people,” said Padilla Salgado.
Lech showcased her dancing talents as a solo act during the Dance Club’s “Winter Dance Showcase” in early December.
“That’s very special in Dance Club, not everyone gets an opportunity to do a solo,” said Padilla Salgado. “She’s an amazing dancer.”
What also was a steadying comfort was the OIE, which Lech said she still visits on a daily basis.
“They have helped me a lot,” said Lech. “Whatever the issue was, this has always been my first place to go to. Whether it was registering for courses, or health insurance, everything they’ve helped me with. During International Orientation, they showed us different services that are available at the university, which there is a variety. The counseling services are also very helpful. Mostly, the OIE has helped me through all of that.”
The OIE prides itself on being a place where students can show up exactly as they are: nervous, excited, confused, homesick, or all of the above, said Wadsworth.
“Our goal is to be the first ‘safe space’ international students find at Fitchburg State, a place where they are heard without judgment and supported without hesitation,” said Wadsworth. “Whether they need help with academics, immigration requirements, cultural transitions, or simply want a familiar face to talk to, OIE is where students come to breathe, regroup, and feel that they truly matter. We aim to ensure that international students do more than simply arrive; we want them to feel connected, supported, and welcomed from day one. Many ultimately treat our office as a second home, which is something we value deeply. We may be a small team, but we are a mighty one, and student support sits at the heart of everything we do.”
The support has been there since the very beginning, where Lech never had to feel alone.
“It took a while for me to recognize that and also to make that connection and have that knowledge that there are people who are willing to help out and are willing to be there,” said Lech.
The experience of studying abroad has been life-changing, said Lech.
“I’ve experienced a lot,” she said. “I think it’s a very diverse university. I love that there are so many events. There is always something to do. I’ve met a lot of really nice people that I’ve become really close friends with. We like to go to events or travel to Boston over the weekend.”
She plans on continuing those friendships even after she returns to Stuttgart – famous for being the home to the headquarters and museums of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche – after the spring semester is over in May.
“I definitely will try to stay in contact with them; we’ve become close friends,” said Lech. “The biggest place to stay in contact with them is on social media.”
Lech has been to the United States before. She has family in Texas and joined them while on Thanksgiving break. But when she finally returns home to Germany, there’s one thing she won’t miss about the United States.
“I’m not the biggest fan of American food, to be honest,” said Lech. “I don’t think it’s very healthy. The dining hall has a salad bar, which I appreciate a lot, so I always find something to eat. I’m a vegetarian, which is not very common in the U.S., I’ve heard. It’s more common (in Germany) than here.”
Lech said that her home university and Fitchburg State are slightly different, but also kind of similar.
“What I think is very similar is the syllabus, the type of stuff that we’re learning,” said Lech, who enjoyed taking a media and society course in the fall. “I’m used to that type of teaching. What is different is probably the amount of events, the amount of stuff that is going on around campus. I think it’s really nice and I really appreciate that. Fitchburg State has a lot more clubs and organizations than my home university.
“It gives me a feeling of home,” she said.
There was a sense of comfortability even in the English language, as Lech said she started learning English in kindergarten.
“Part of the courses I took in Germany were in English, as well,” she said.
Lech also knows how to speak Italian and Latin.
“My Italian is not as good as my English,” she joked.
Lech said that she will write her bachelor’s thesis here online with her professors from her home university, and her degree will come from Stuttgart Media University. She plans on pursuing her master’s degree after, and is eyeing an international career in public relations or social media.
“In Germany I did my internship at the state ministry, so I worked for a governor,” said Lech. “That was impactful because that was an international job.”
As another successful international student, Lech 100 percent would recommend Fitchburg State to anyone looking to study abroad.
“I would definitely recommend it because international students are very well taken care of,” said Lech. “There’s always someone there helping you out. All the faculty and the professors, they are all very helpful. Whenever I don’t understand something or something is difficult for me, they are always there to help me out. I really appreciate them all. I feel like I’ve made a great connection with them.”