A passion for cheerleading has helped an international student from Spain to settle in her new home at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester. The medical science student tells feature writer Sara Doktorova about her new life.
Asuncion Akondip had always wanted to be a doctor but one day, scrolling through TikTok, she found a video that sparked a newly discovered interest. It was a video of the De Montfort University cheerleading society team. At that very moment, Asuncion decided to study abroad, at that university.
Asuncion’s parents already lived in Leicester, and she realised that this was the opportunity to be closer to them by choosing to study abroad, killing two birds with one stone. She had previously lived with her grandparents in Spain.
“Since I was little, I always wanted to be a doctor, and I know it’s not the same but I as I grew up I realised that I like labs more and that’s the part of medical science that I love,” says Asuncion.
Asuncion then contacted an agency in Spain, and they helped her with the application and visa process.
When she first arrived in Leicester, she was happy to see the city was beautiful. “I actually loved it, the campus is amazing in my opinion and Leicester is really beautiful as well, so I was really happy when I came here,” she says.
The first cultural differences that Asuncion noticed, were the food and the weather. “It’s a very cold country and very dark, especially in the winter and I’m not used to that. Since I’m from the southern part of Spain, where it’s always sunny, that was the biggest shock to me since arriving here,” she admits.
The 19-year-old is from Seville, a city in Spain, and has been studying foundation level medical science at DMU international college since September 2025.
Before arriving, Asuncion studied at a British school where she completed her GCSEs and A-levels. This was clearly an advantage to her as she didn’t have to study English since she is fluent and doesn’t have any language barriers.
“I don’t have many problems with speaking the language, and my stepdad is from London, so I speak English at home anyway,” she says.
“But when I am in a lesson, for example chemistry, I just use ChatGPT when I don’t understand something but that’s very rare,” says Asuncion.
To avoid the feelings of homesickness, Asuncion often calls and visits her grandparents and friends in Spain at every opportunity, such as during Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.
“I Facetime my friends almost every day from back home and my grandparents as well and I visit quite often, I’m always there, it’s as if I never left so that’s quite nice,” says Asuncion.
“Teachers from De Montfort University International College are very supportive and they are always there to answer questions, so I think that’s like the biggest support.
“My favourite part I’d say are the lab sessions because it’s quite interesting, like every week we do different experiments for a final lab report, and I find it interesting to see real labs and how it works.”
Asuncion says she is a very organised person, who balances out her studies and social life, adding: “I’d literally do a timetable in the morning or the night before, so that it helps me to be organised and see that there is time for everything.
“For example, so I can study, train and go out, in the same day perfectly.”
She thinks that the healthcare systems are quite similar between tSpain and the UK, especially the hospitals and emergency areas. “More or less, in my opinion, the same system, but I wouldn’t know it so well since in Spain, I don’t use the public healthcare, I use the private one and that’s a bit faster that the public one.”
After completing her studies, she plans to apply for an internship somewhere and start working straight away.
“I think studying here in Leicester has made me become more mature than I was before, because it’s the first time I’m living on my own and like more independent, which taught me to be more responsible,” Asuncion says.
Her hobbies are playing the piano, learning how to play basketball and cheerleading. She is also a member of the university’s cheerleading society, where they cheer for the DMU sports teams.
“I actually knew that I wanted to be a part of the cheerleading team, because I saw it on TikTok. During the fresher’s week, I met them and they put me in the group chat and then I tried out and I got in,” she recalls.
“I’ve met really nice people, made so many friends, it’s been very fun.”
Her favourite traditional Spanish dish is croquetas, a small tapas dish, which are fried fritters filled with a thick, creamy bechamel sauce and commonly mixed with Serrano ham, cheese, chicken or cob.
“The ham is difficult to find here, so I just wait till I’m back home to eat them,” says Asuncion.
“When I am in my accommodation near the DMU campus, I usually cook the typical dishes, like chicken and pasta. My favourite restaurant is the Casa Casa located in the city centre. They serve many traditional Spanish dishes.”
Asuncion gives some advice to international students who would like to study in Leicester: “I’d say start prepared and I would tell them not to think that because you have finished your A-levels and all your exams, but I would tell them to keep revising over the summer holidays, because that will help you be more prepared for the foundation level.”
