DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN

2015/16 MAJORS & MINORS

German Majors

Austin Apt

WCAS: German

As a child, I had a great interest and love for motorsports, but especially the efforts of Porsche and BMW. Combined with an appreciation for the incomparably influential German music canon that I developed in high school, the decision to finally study the language came fairly easily to me during my sophomore year at Northwestern. The German Department showed me a side of Northwestern that as a Pre-Med I had come to believe did not exist; the instruction was direct, helpful and even enjoyable! Continuing my studies beyond the language itself, combined with the downfall of the internal-combustion engine sports car, influential figures such as Freud, Nietzsche and holy moly Faust challenged my intellect and the world I knew in ways hard to put into few words without sounding crazy. I hope to continue working with the humanities, possibly pursue further studies, but most importantly get abroad with my fresh language skills as soon as possible!

Chad Carter

MUSIC: Music Performance and German

I studied German because I already had previous experience in studying German from middle and high school and I wanted to build upon this experience and become even more proficient. Studying German at Northwestern, which has one of the best German Departments in the country, not only improved my proficiency in the language but also gave me insight to the many different aspects and perspectives of German cultural identity, which is helpful in both areas of business and politics, in which one must understand the nuances of communication in a cultural context. With my foreign language skills, I hope to do research in Germany through the Fulbright program and also do work in the field of translation in the short term. In the long term, I would like to start my own music publishing or sub-publishing firm that works with recording artists and other publishing firms in parts of German-speaking Europe, such as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Sam Douglas

COMM: Theater and German

When I came to Northwestern, I had no intention of studying German. It wasn’t even on my radar. I grew up studying Latin, and that’s what I aimed to continue--until I realized the joy and depth of learning, studying, and immersing myself in a language with living speakers and growing culture. My goal in studying Latin and beginning German was to become a world citizen, someone who could explore another way of living, thinking, and perceiving the world. The German department at Northwestern gave me that. I also studied theatre (how strange to write that in the perfect tense), and will continue into the professional theatre world postgraduation. In theatre, an actor is often asked to portray people with views and values contradictory to his own. The compassion necessary to do so truthfully, honestly, and respectfully is astounding. Studying German has broadened my compassion for others by confronting me with a culture frustratingly like my own and so compellingly different. Oh, and being able to speak another language isn’t so bad, either.

Zachary Elvove

WCAS: History, American Studies and German

I feel like there is only ever one reason anyone studies German at Northwestern: John Paluch. I have three majors and German will always be my first. I took German in high school and I wanted to become fluent. I was in the 102-2 sequence freshman year and the next thing I knew I spent the summer following my freshman year studying abroad as part of the IPD Berlin program. The department made me feel welcome and cared about my time at Northwestern. It shows in my studies: I spent the winter break of my junior year in Hamburg conducting a research project of my own design. I have found the quality of instruction and the breadth of course offerings to be poignant, valuable, and instructive. I hope to use my German skills wherever my professional career takes me: whether it be helping graduates find employment in German, taking part in the Congress Bundestag Exchange Program to bolster my understanding of international governance, or working in Germany myself. I'm confident that my journey will always come back to that first major--German will always be a part of my life.

Mary Felder

WCAS: Political Science and German

My German courses at Northwestern always challenged me, while allowing me to explore different aspects of German culture and history through film, literature and music. The professors, staff, and students in the German department are consistently warm, friendly, and encouraging. The constant support of professors, staff and students not only helped me advance in my speaking and writing abilities but also led me to take my learning overseas, where I spent six months in Germany studying European/German politics.

Max Kramer

COMM: Theater and German

I decided to study German because I had studied German since the 6th grade. My teacher, Herr Hasselschwert, was my favorite teacher through high school and made German a huge part of my life. This made it absolutely necessary that I continued my German studies through college. I can’t thank him enough because my choice to double major in German might be the greatest choice I’ve ever made. The German professors are far and away my favorite professors I have had in my time here at Northwestern: They always made time for me, always were working on something interesting outside of school, and my German classes were far more interesting than a lot of my theater classes. Apart from that, without my German major I don’t think I’d have decided to study abroad which was probably the single most important experience of my undergraduate career. It has made me now want more than anything to move to Germany, complete my fluency, and actually get to know Germans and the German culture in a real and intimate way. My plan is to teach English at a firm for a year or so, then move to Berlin and participate (hopefully) in the famed Berlin theatre scene. In closing, I cannot thank Franziska, Johannes, Jan, Ingrid, Denise, Erica, and Katrin enough because whether they knew it or not they had a huge influence on my time here, and subsequently a huge influence on my life as I go forward. For that, I’ll be forever grateful I chose to be a part of the German community here at Northwestern.

Michael Levy

WCAS: English and German

Since I visited Germany with my family in the summer of 2012, I have been fascinated with the country and its language. By studying German in college, I thought that I might have the chance to learn more about the place where the food is great, the people are nice, and the cities are beautiful. Even with these high hopes, I could not at all foresee how life-changing studying abroad in Munich would be. During my year there, I made use of the language skills that two years of studying German helped me to hone. When I returned for my senior year, I was able to complete a German major, cementing my budding fluency in this language. I hope to make use of this language in my career, whether I end up working in finance, media, or communications. 

Sam Madvig

WCAS: Economics and German

I took German because I enjoyed learning a language that was more unique than most. I enjoyed learning it because it helped me think in a different way, while also learning about a different culture and way of life... the international lens the German Major gave me will be invaluable in the future as I continue to work in a company with offices around the world. I will be working as an analyst at a clearing bank in the loop and learning a lot. While I will not be directly using my German in my job in the next year, I have been able to bond with some coworkers over our mutual knowledge of the German language.

Gabe Wernick

MUSIC: Voice and German

I had always wanted to study German in high school, but we only had French, Italian, and Spanish. My teacher tried to teach me it through a green textbook that I remember well, but we never got much past "guten Tag" and "wie geht's." When I saw the intensive German course in college, I jumped on the opportunity. One thing led to another, I studied abroad in Germany, and soon after, it became my other major, supplementing my music degree. I study opera and love to sing German art songs from the 19th century, so German was the perfect choice for me. These next few years, I would ideally like to take a break from school and travel, but once I am ready to get my master’s degree, I would like to study at a conservatory in Germany. I never liked languages much before college, and I was never that good nor confident with them, but now, they are my passion and it all started here with German.

German Minors

Miriam Bohlmann

WCAS: Chemistry, Minor in German

I decided to pursue German initially because of my family’s German roots, and because so many people close to me spoke the language as well. I decided to continue studying German in college because I fell in love with the culture and the language. I am so happy I decided to study German at Northwestern because of the wide variety of classes I was able to take. The classes challenged me, but I still felt very much supported by all my professors. I am majoring in chemistry, and will be pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry in the future. Germany has such a thriving community of science and technology, so I hope to be able to partner with scientists in Germany, and hopefully at some point even do research in Germany.

John Carney

WCAS: History/Math, Minor in German

I started studying German my freshman year because of my interest in German history and my desire to study abroad in Germany. I was able to accomplish the latter last year when I studied in Freiburg during the winter and spring quarters of my Junior year. While I was there the German language took on a much deeper meaning for me as I not only found a new appreciation for the language itself as I was immersed in it, but it also has grown to be my connection to the friends I made while I was there and the experiences and sights that made my time there so special. I plan to continue to use my German in the future through travel and with my other friends that can also speak the language.

Haidee Carrasco

WCAS: Sociology, Minor in Business German

I studied German to not only learn the language, but also to learn and experience the German culture. Learning German was an amazing experience at Northwestern. The department is extremely helpful in every aspect and classes ranged in a variety of interesting topics. I plan to hopefully take my German language skills to the work force and work for a German base company. My German business minor has definitely given me a different perspective; a more global viewpoint of the business world I did not have beforehand.

Tony Chen

WCAS: Economics, Minor in Busness German

I first found passion for studying German from soccer - I have been a fan of the German National Team for 14 years! German classes are among the best experience that I have had at Northwestern. Every professor is extremely nice and good at teaching. We got to talk about a lot of interesting topics and learn a ton about Germany. I am not sure how I would apply my foreign language skills, or even whether it would be useful at all, but it definitely gives me more options to choose from. Most likely, I will watch more soccer-related videos in German!

Nick Geisendorfer

MCCORMICK: Material Science, Minor in German

I had taken German throughout high school (with a really good teacher!) and decided that continuing my study of German after arriving at Northwestern would be a nice way to provide balance with my engineering major... I decided to keep up with taking German and eventually decided it would be nice to minor because I realize how important international skills are in an increasingly globalized world! My first course was German 201 (Grimm Märchen) with John Paluch who was an incredibly energetic and engaging instructor which led to a very positive experience. Every German course I took was good, and most were excellent! I remain very glad of my decision to continue German during my time at Northwestern. I am very happy to be traveling to Munich this summer immediately after Commencement for a research experience at the Technische Universität München. Without a doubt, I will be very interested as a graduate student to incorporate additional international research experiences in the German-speaking countries.

Peter Palecek

WCAS: Psychology/Economics, Minor in Business German

I decided to study German because I have always loved the language and German culture. German is really important for people from my country as Germany is one of our neighboring countries and our strongest business partner. I plan to use my German skills in my professional life as well as during vacation time - I love exploring German countryside and eating local food. I also have a lot of friends from Germany so I hope to keep honing my German skills even after graduation.

Katherine Rodzak

McCORMICK: Biomedical Engineering, Minor in Business German

I chose to study German at Northwestern in hopes of both improving my language skills and my knowledge of German history and culture. I hope to eventually work in Germany and I believe that pursuing a Business German Minor has set me up to be successful in doing so. I enjoyed all of the German classes that I took during my time at Northwestern, both on campus and during the Berlin: Global City in the Center of Europe program, and greatly appreciate how they have improved my language skills. My studies allowed me to pursue a discipline outside of my major and I look forward to using the skill I have developed from it in the future. 

Chuyu Tian

WCAS: Philosophy/Economics, Minor in German

I have learned a year of German in seventh grade and a bit in the summer before college. I wanted to start learning German in college because I planned to study philosophy as a major and thought German would be a great complement to it. In middle school I also read Goethe and Thomas Mann and Nietzsche in Chinese and was very much interested in German philosophy and literature in general. I love all the course offerings here. The 101 courses are engaging and fun. The German history class I took in Berlin opened a new way of looking at a city and its architecture. The higher level classes, especially the German Aesthetics classes are the best classes I had at Northwestern. They fully satisfied my intellectual curiosity. I plan to continue studying philosophy, either ethics or philosophy of law. German will be of help to me in my future studies.

Dave Tyson

WCAS: Economics/International Studies, German Minor

I was able to recognize the important role that German language and culture occupies in international commerce and politics. German is a critical language in the operations of the UN and European politics and has only grown in importance with the increasing volatility throughout Europe. To that end, working for a global governing body – such as the United Nations or the European Union – has always been a dream of mine and I hope to utilize my German education as a means to achieve those goals.

Ken-Terika Zellner

WCAS: Philosophy/Legal Studies, German Minor

I am from the very small town of Thomaston, GA. In high school, I was offered the choice of two languages, German and Spanish, and, because the German students knew more German than the Spanish students knew Spanish, I chose German. I decided to continue to pursue German while at Northwestern and found that it was a great resource for my philosophy studies. Currently, am looking for a short-term position in the Atlanta area, and I am planning to pursue a JD/PhD in a few years.