At Washburn University, in the Plass Learning Resources Center, the international student services office was moved from the International House a year ago. It is now located in Plass 220.
Heidi Staerkel, associate director in international student services, has been working at Washburn for 26 years. She used to work part time in the Intensive English Program in the beginning.
“We provide support to students who are attending Washburn on a F1 student visa or a J1 exchange visitor visa to get the documents they need, immigration documents, to apply for their visas, to provide them with pre arrival orientation through desire to learn D2L before they come, to help prepare them,” Staerkel said.
Staerkel said international programs used to have Intensive English, study abroad and international student services as one combined unit until 2024, which now operate independently.
Staerkel also explains that international programs support international students who face significant adjustments, such as differences in food and climate. Because students encounter many types of changes as they adapt to a new environment, these programs provide assistance to help them navigate those challenges.
“[International programs] have helped with an orientation on campus,” Staerkel said. “Orientation helps them to know what is allowed under the immigration regulations and what’s not and to help them keep their status, maintain their status and provide support. Help them to know how to connect to different support services on campus.”
Staerkel also has personal experience as an international student.
“I lived in Germany and I lived in Austria and Michala [international student adviser] lived in South Korea for a while. So we also have had that experience as an international student,” Staerkel said. “So I feel like that helps us to understand and have more compassion because we remember how hard it was, it was a great experience, but sometimes it was really hard to live in a new culture and try to be successful. So, we’re here to help and support students so that they can be successful.”
Staerkel explained her favorite things working in the international student services.
“Because I’ve been an international student and my study abroad experience from the perspective of the university that I was attending in Austria, I didn’t receive any help from that university, so when I started working here that really made me I didn’t want any of our Washburn international students to feel that way,” Staerkel said. “We want students to ask us for help. We want to help them. We want to see them succeed. Also, it’s not only meeting so many incredible students from all over the world and learning about their cultures, but also seeing them succeed, going to commencement and celebrating with them and getting to meet their families if their families come for graduation.”
Staerkel explained that they have had students who graduated 10 years ago, or who came on exchange from Fukuoka University for just a month, return years later to visit and say hello to everyone at Washburn. She said that even after a decade, these students still want to come back, which shows how much they value their experience at Washburn and that it feels like a second home to them. Staerkel described her challenges to work in the international programs.
“One of those challenges is that in some ways, we’re representatives of immigration of the USCIS. So we’re both designated school officials called a DSO, so we have federal responsibilities,” Staerkel said. “They are things we are required to report so that students are enrolled full time and they’re not enrolled in too many online classes and that they are maintaining their status and they’re not doing something they’re not allowed to do.”
The program also helps international students deal with difficult situations.
“We’ve had students in the past who’ve struggled with financial difficulties or other family challenges or other personal difficulties, it means they had to go home. We’ve had students who had a parent die while they were here and so just some heartbreaking situations and being there to help students through those students that have been in an accident and been in the hospital,” Staerkel said. “So sometimes the government rules and regulations make the change and make things difficult. So we do our best to make sure that students are informed and that we give them the best support that we can.”
Apeksha Thapa, sophomore nursing major, as an international student has been working in the office for 7 months. Thapa talked about her favorite things as working there.
“Interacting with different students from different cultures and from different countries and making them feel comfortable in a new environment and learning different things every day, from Miss Heidi and from Miss Michala. Yeah, those are the things that I love the most,” Thapa said.
Stefan Steegmans, sophomore business languages major and an exchange student from Belgium, explained what international programs provide him.
“Heidi helped me a lot with just showing me around, telling me about all the rules and about customs here at Washburn and in Kansas in general,” Steegmans said. “For the rest, she always responds very quickly to my emails if I have any questions and she basically helps me with everything that she can help.”
Whether navigating complex federal immigration rules or helping a student adjust to the Kansas climate, the international student services office remains a vital anchor for Washburn’s global population. Heidi Staerkel’s 26-year tenure—driven by her own experiences as an international student—ensures that no one has to face cultural or personal hurdles alone. By building a culture of trust and support, the office has transformed Room 220 into a “second home” for students that lasts from their first inquiry through graduation and beyond.
Edited by Arohi Rai and Bidhya Sapkota
