DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN

Sam Casey

I started studying German at Northwestern because I had a base of German courses from high school. My goal was to simply become conversational in another language, as I believe it would improve me as a scholar and global citizen. The Northwestern German Department offered a great range of classes that allowed me to develop much stronger language skills as well as learn extensively about German culture and history. During my Sophomore year, I took two quarters away from German-language classes, but at the beginning of my junior year I got back on track and declared a German Minor with the intent of studying abroad my senior year. I was lucky to be able to study abroad in Vienna for credit and, by the end of my time there, feel comfortable speaking German in my daily life with natives in large part because of the Northwestern German Department. The faculty at the German Department were always willing to help me with anything German or study-abroad related and have created a very welcoming community. I plan to continue to hone my German skills after I graduate.

Ava Dahnke

I took beginner German in my sophomore year without any exceptions, but the welcoming community and a growing interest in German history and culture immediately drew me in. I participated in the 2022 Summer in Berlin program, where we lived in the Kreuzberg neighborhood and took classes with Northwestern faculty and at Humboldt University. This two-month immersion in German language and culture cemented my desire to pursue a minor in German. Two years later, I could not be happier with my choice. I have taken incredibly interesting classes with amazing professors. I participated in the Global Engineering Trek in Sustainability & Energy to Münster and Hamburg, combining my Chemical Engineering major with my passion for German. I have also been co-chair of the German Undergraduate Advisory Board this past year, and it has been rewarding to help plan events to cultivate community within the department. Next year I’ll be consulting with a firm headquartered in Munich, and in the future I hope to use my background to help foster international connections in chemical engineering and sustainability.

Luke McGorry

When I entered Northwestern over Zoom as a freshman in Fall 2020, my German 101 class with John Paluch and the German Department here at Northwestern instantly provided a community where I felt both welcomed and recognized as an individual, even virtually. The opportunity to continue to participate in this community throughout my four years of college is one of the most positive experiences I have had at NU, and I anticipate that my German skills will be very useful in my professional career as well. After graduation, I plan to enter the medical device industry, where I hope to leverage my engineering and language skills together to work with one of the many biotechnology companies which have roots in both the US and Germany. I will forever be grateful for the experiences I have had with German at Northwestern, and I'd like to thank all of the professors and classmates I've had along the way for creating them.

Cedar Turner

I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at Northwestern University. I am currently on the Duel-Degree track studying Oboe Performance at the Bienen School of Music and Cultural Anthropology with a Minor in German in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. I currently work as an on-campus tour guide, but I have worked several jobs each summer since I was 14 years old. I worked as a lifeguard, a bakery cashier, and a barista throughout high school. I was also very involved in my local 4-H club and held several officer positions, as well as being involved in several musical ensembles outside of school. I graduated from College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, CA in the top 1% of my class.