German Studies!

Hier ist ein Beispiel von einer Amerikanischen Universität, wo Deutsch wichtig ist.
--von Professor Susan Babilon

Whitman College German students, have received many grants for internships, research and study in Germany.

Of the 28 Fulbrights that were awarded to Whitman students over the past five years, almost half (13) went to students who studied German at Whitman, and 9 went to students who majored or minored in German. Below is a list of recent recipients. I've removed their names in respect of their privacy, but three of them have posted statements about their experiences on our website, which you'll find below.

Class of 2012:
- (German & Biology major)
-- Recipient of UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) internship at Aachen University, Biology Department, summer 2009

Class of 2011:
- (German student)
-- Teaching Assistantship for English, through Austrian Ministry of Educa=
tion, Arts & Culture 2011-12
- (German minor)
-- Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, teaching English in Germany 2011-12
- (German minor)
-- Perry award with Professor Jon Walters to help with German documents relating to research on the use of Sri Lankans as ethnographic samples, summer 2009

Class of 2010:
- (German & History major) - now in an M.A. program at Georgetown in Int’l Relations
-- Fulbright Teaching award, teaching English in Germany 2010-11
-- Recipient of grant in 2009 to attend The Graduate School Experience at Ohio State U; awarded by Ohio State, DAAD & Max Kade Foundation
-- CDS internship with the State of Thuringia Historic Monument Preservation, 2008
Class of 2009:
- (German & Physics major)
-- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) RISE internship award for science students to engage in collaborative projects with German science Ph.D. students, summer 2008

Class of 2008:
- (German minor)
-- Watson Fellowship to study monuments in Germany, the UK and Vietnam, 2008-09
-- Declined Research Fulbright to study monuments in Freiburg, Germany
- ( German minor)
-- Fulbright Teaching award, teaching English in Germany 2008-10
- (German major)
-- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) grant to complete M.A. at the Kennedy Institute of the Freie University of Berlin in American Studies
-- Awarded Fulbright as well, but declined in favor of the DAAD
-- Recipient of grant in 2006 to attend The Graduate School Experience at the University of Pennsylvania
- (German & English major) - now in an M.A. program for teaching administration at U.Cal
-- Fulbright Teaching award, teaching English in Lübeck, Germany 2008-09
-- Recipient of award to participate in The Grosser Grenzverkehr project along the former border of East & West Germanies, summer 2006
-- Recipient of grant in 2006 to attend The Graduate School Experience at University of Minnesota
- (German & History major) - now in an M.A. program in international relations at U.Wash
-- Fulbright Internship to assist the Green Party Vice Chairman at the European Parliament, Brussels, summer 2009
-- Fulbright Research Grant to study German environmental policy in Leipzig, Germany, 2008-09
-- Finalist for Pickering Foreign Service Grant
-- Recipient of WAFLT (Washington Association of Foreign Language Teachers) Award

Class of 2007:
- (German major)
-- Fulbright Teaching award, teaching English in Cologne, Germany, 2007-09
- (German & Sociology major) - in an M.A. program for teaching (not German)
-- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholars’ Exchange Award, 2006-07
Class of 2006:
- (German major) - M.A. in library program from Uni of B.C.
-- German Bundestag International Parliament Intern, working in the German Parliament, 2007
-- Masters in Library and Information Sciences at the University of British Columbia, 2010-
- (German & History major) - Ph.D. program at Berkeley, international relations
-- Recipient of award to participate in The Grosser Grenzverkehr project along former border of East & West Germanies (summer 2005)
-- Masters Degree from London School of Economics, 2008
-- Ph.D. Candidate, University of California at Berkeley, International Policy Major, 2008-
- (German minor)
-- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) RISE internship award for science students to engage in collaborative projects with German science Ph.D. students, summer 2005
- (German major) - got M.A. in Germany to teach DAF
-- Fulbright Teaching award, teaching English in Dresden, Germany, 2006-8
-- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) grant to complete an M.A. at the University of

Personal Comments:
Lindsay Satterlund '06 (I majored in German Studies with a minor in History)

During the spring semester of my junior year at Whitman I attended the IES Freiburg program and loved it!! After graduating from Whitman, I received a Fulbright grant in cooperation with the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst and thus taught English for two years at a Mittelschule in Dresden. I am currently a DAAD scholar and am attending the Technische Universitaet in Dresden. I will complete my master's degree in German Studies in March 2010 (also at the TUD). I am also teaching a beginning German class for foreign exchange students at the university, which has been a lot of fun!

Studying German was my main interest while at Whitman! The friendly professors and smallness of the department really made me feel welcome and comfortable exploring German language and culture. Because of the great education I received at Whitman, I hope to become a German teacher myself.

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Kyrstin Floodeen '06 (I majored in German Studies, and minored in History.)

I was an exchange student my junior year in High School, which first got me interested in Germany. I studied abroad through IES in Freiburg the Fall of my junior year at Whitman, and after gra-duating in December of 2006, I went to Berlin through the Internationales Parlaments-Stipendium (IPS). This was an amazing experience (link here if you ever want to pass it along). I would encourage anyone to take part if they can, and they can certainly e-mail me if they want to know about it. While the quality and variety of work depended on the representative you were assigned to intern with, I met amazing people from all over the world, some of whom are now my best friends. I got to travel quite a lot around Germany, and by working, I learned more about the country and people than I'd ever have known just by having studied abroad.

German has helped me travel, and has helped me meet and make connections with people from all over the world (not necessarily just Germans) both here at home and while abroad. I think in general knowing any second language or culture gives you a better perspective on the world.

I am currently in Seattle, but am moving up to Vancouver B.C. in December to start a Masters in Library and Information Sciences at the University of British Columbia this January. I hope to be able to use my background in la=
nguages to work in an academic setting--either in a University library or a research center.

I loved living in the German Haus--it was honestly one of my favorite parts
of being at Whitman. Not only was it a great house to call home, but all the people in it were so laid back and fun. I made some great life-long friendships there. Stammtisch was a great way to relax at the end of the week, too. I also enjoyed working in the language lab, and getting to watching Deutsche Welle, etc. when things were slow.
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Grant Margeson '08

I graduated Whitman in 2008 with a major in English and a minor in German. Last year I was a Fulbright TA in Germany and this year I am a PAD TA, which is really the same thing but paid for by a different institution. I have spent both years in Dresden and worked in a Realschule in Königstein, a small town 40 km south of Dresden. My interest in Germany stems exclusively from my studies at Whitman. I had studied German in high school, but only because my brother studied French and I thought it was the closest to opposite I could do. I decided to conitue at Whitman simply to fulfill requirements. I enjoyed the classes, professors, and students (students of German tend to be much cooler than students in an English Lit class), so I just kept taking classes and my interest grew organically, leading to me eventually becoming a regular at Stammtisch. All this sort of naturally built up to me applying for a TA-ship in Germany, and since arriving--especially since my first trip to Berlin--my love of Germany and its culture has only grown.
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Suzanne Zitzer '08 (Majors: German Studies and History)

I studied abroad spring/summer 2007 in Berlin through IES. Studied and researched in Leipzig September 2008 through July 2009 with a Fulbright student research grant. I was greatly impressed by both programs--both met my needs at those particular stages in my life. The IES program involved more supervision and support than the Fulbright program, good for me since it was my first time being in another country for an extended amount of time. The atmosphere in the IES center was warm and welcoming and students could receive as much or as little assistance from the IES staff as they needed. The Fulbright program is directed from Berlin, so many students, myself included, are not in the same city as the directing office. I was responsible for finding my own housing and registering with the city, as well as registering at the local university, all things which were taken care of by the IES staff during my semester abroad. But the Fulbright experience for me was so much more rewarding because I was surrounded predominantly by Germans and other Europeans. My German language skills improved so much, as did my understanding of German culture. While I learned a great deal conducting my research project, it was predominantly what I learned outside of the project that will stick with me the longest.

After completing my Fulbright grant I moved to Brussels, Belgium, where I served as an intern in the office of Reinhard Bütikofer, a prominent member of the German Green Party, in the European Parliament for five months. Now I am back in the Pacific Northwest, waiting to hear back from the graduate schools I applied to and looking for a job in the meantime. I applied to masters programs in international environmental policy starting in fall of 2010.

My study of German at Whitman mainly served to increase my interest in the language, literature, art, and history of Germany. Thanks to the presence of native speakers and events at the German House and the Stammtisch, my interest in popular culture and everyday life in Germany increased a thousandfold.

I lived in das deutsche Haus in my sophomore year and participated occasionally in the Stammtisch. Now I really miss it.