Graduation Year: 2021

Major: German

Minor: Communication

How did you decide on your major?

I first became interested in learning German because my family has German ancestry, and because English is a Germanic language and I was interested in the connections between English and other Germanic languages. I began studying German in the sixth grade, and I loved the language so much that I continued to study it in high school, and then at Rutgers. Originally I was to be a German minor, but I liked taking the German department classes so much that I decided to double major!

What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?

I find that there’s something special about languages and the ability to communicate with others in a non-native language. There is such a strong connection between language and culture, and learning a foreign language is the only way to truly appreciate the impact that language has on a person’s worldview. I also was amazed by how much more of a connection I felt between myself and my classmates speaking German. Because we were learners, we could not rely on the clichés and stock phrases of our native language to communicate, and it was fun when we accidentally developed our own ways of saying things and expressing ourselves (even if they weren’t always correct!) It’s amazing to see how once we had to limit our vocabulary and rely on our limited vocabulary, it felt as though our communication with each other was much more honest and expressive.

Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?

Intro to Literary and Cultural Analysis was interesting to me, because every semester that I took it, it was taught by a different professor who brought their own interesting theme and flavor to the class. One thing you’ll discover when you study a foreign language is how much you can learn about a wide variety of topics! After all, once you learn German, you need something to talk about with it, right? The first time I took the class, we had the opportunity to put on a play, and we got to learn a lot, not just about theater, but also the value of teamwork. I don’t think my acting is winning any awards anytime soon, but it was certainly a memorable and fun experience!

What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?

I enjoy classes that involve public speaking and creative writing, because I enjoy expressing myself and seeing my classmates express themselves. I think there’s a lot more to learn from the ways that people communicate themselves than there is to be learned in theories from textbooks, and even the most genius ideas are wasted if they can’t be articulated. 

What are your other Rutgers activities?

I’m a part of the Rutgers German Club and Rutgers' chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. I find both pretty enjoyable. I recommend that new students find one or two clubs that they enjoy and that they don’t overextend themselves or worry too much about things they can put on a resume right off the bat! That’s for the upperclassmen to worry about!

What are your plans following graduation?

I’m thinking about becoming an Account Executive at a Public Relations firm, but I would also like to see more of the world (including the German-speaking world, of course!) and it would be a dream come true if I could publish my fiction someday. As for the rest, we’ll see!

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Graduation Year: 2017

Major: Double-major: German BA and Visual Arts BFA (Media concentration)

Why did you choose German as your major?

I lived in Germany for just over a year in high school, first through the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program for high schoolers, and then through a smaller independent exchange program. During my time in Germany, I lived in Stralsund, a small yet vibrant city off the northeastern coast of Germany. It was during my first German class at Rutgers (German 231 at the time) that I decided to pursue a major in German, mostly due to the encouragement and support of the faculty.

What did you like most about it?

Classes were so fun! I took a variety of courses in literature, film, philosophy, theater, and media. The interesting part about studying media in a foreign language is that you have the double-benefit of 1) learning a language and 2) learning the theoretical frameworks through which people discuss works of art, literature, film, etc. That is to say, I could have my Adorno cake, and eat it, too.

What still stands out to me as the highlight of my entire university career is that I felt as though I got to know everyone in the German department. Building connections with the many wonderful professors encouraged me to study harder and work harder on my assignments. I also loved the extracurriculars in the department -- one of my good friends, also a German major, ran the German movie nights for a year. In a university as massive as Rutgers, it felt crucial to find a niche as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

What is your current position, what do you enjoy most about it?

I am working as a Native English Instructor at an English conversation school in Kawasaki, Japan. I teach English to students from as young as five years old to students using English every day in their professional lives. It’s a dynamic job; I’m never bored. I’ve gotten to know many interesting people. I credit much of my intercultural awareness to the time I spent both in Germany and studying about German language and culture from my time at Rutgers.

What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it?

I worked in a cafe in Philadelphia for about six months -- I got this position just before I graduated, and then moved back to my hometown of Alexandria, VA, and worked in a chocolate shop. There’s no shame in working retail to make ends meet. It might not be the most lucrative beginning to your career, but the point is to keep moving forward and set your sights high while making some money. Success stories don’t necessarily happen the second you leave university.

Incidentally, while working at the second job, I met a couple who, after talking to them for a little, mentioned being close friends with one of the German professors who taught me in Berlin during a study abroad program. The world is an incredibly small place.

How did you move from that first job to your current position?

I knew before graduating university that I wanted to work abroad, specifically within Japan. While working at cafes, I applied to a variety of programs to teach in Japan, emphasizing my time spent in Germany and studying German as a sign of my interest in working internationally. Mind you, teaching English overseas is not an end-goal for me, but rather a stepping stone. In the next year or so, I anticipate moving into an international career in some respect, whether working remotely for an international company or moving abroad once more.

Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes?

During my time at Rutgers, I had the incredible opportunity to study abroad twice -- first with a joint-run program between another U.S. university and Rutgers in Berlin; and the second time with the Freie Universitaet in Berlin Summer program. Being able to put to practice my cultural and language skills in Berlin was a wonderful experience. I have many fond memories of both summers, in particular the theater productions I saw. Many of the fundamentals of German courses (i.e., grammar intensive courses) helped inform my knowledge of English grammar, which has of course informed my career in Japan currently.

What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?

 The Beatles said: “And in the end the love you take / is equal to the love you make.” This is the best piece of advice anyone can learn, not only in university, but anywhere in the world.

Make genuine connections with everyone -- faculty, fellow students, your seniors, those younger than you, your mailmen, the hardworking people in the dining halls, the people you meet when studying abroad, the bus drivers, and so on. You don’t need to be chummy with everyone you meet, but if you come from a place of honesty and goodwill, everyone else will reflect the same back toward you. You truly never know what others have to offer. Life is ultimately about the bonds you form with others. Everything else is secondary to that.

Other than that: go to class, read your books, take good notes, and send emails!

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Graduation Year: 2017

Major: German Language and Literature

Minor: Comparative Literature

Why did you choose German as your major?

As I was studying other sciences like engineering and biology (in a different school), I began reading Kafka, Kant, and Freud’s “Interpretation of Dreams”. The works were in English, yet I thought it to be unfair to the writers for me to read their work in a foreign language. So I began learning German and loved it.

What did you like most about it?

The people you meet in the German department are extraordinary. The staff is caring and really provide amazing professional advice. They guide you through the semesters and turn a would-be-nearly endless campus to a close, focused circle. Rutgers loses its towering, giant effect and becomes your second home.

What is your current position, what do you, and what do you enjoy most about it?

I am currently 2 semesters away from finishing my second bachelor’s degree in nursing science. My initial goal was to become a professor and perform more research regarding language acquisition (thank you Professor Pichugin), but then I was exposed to the art of nursing and, to my surprise, discovered a new-found passion: healthcare science. I still practice German. Studying the language made me a more complete individual.

What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it?

My first job after Rutgers was as a home health aide. I needed to save money to pass my teacher certification, so in the meantime I worked in a different field. Little did I know, that experience would change everything. One of my professors recommended me for the position. I thank the German department greatly for that gesture.

How did you move from that first job to your current position?

I moved to Florida, now I study full time and work part time in Jupiter Medical Center’s emergency department. As a patient care tech, I aide non-English speakers and their nurses. I’m assigned German speakers and Spanish speakers. Gratefully, my language skills have opened the professional doors that would have been otherwise locked.

Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes?

I really wish I could have taken every German class. Each professor has something significant to contribute. For instance, I am more critical about my work (academic or professional) due to Professor Pichugin’s strict academic regimen. I feel that my writing is more creative after working with Professor Bergmann and Professor Pfeifer. I think twice before giving into lazy speech after my class with Professor Levine. I follow Kant’s deontology principles regarding healthcare (even today!) after Professor Rennie’s course. Professor Glowacki crystallized my German grammar. I know I’m missing many names! I miss you all. I will visit next year after I obtain my nursing license.

What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?

In 2016, I was in the park and ran into Professor Henry Sussman. You’d be lucky if he visited Rutgers University during your stay. He told me (and I pass this on to you): “Be the ultimate you. Be the best version of yourself, yet have fun doing it. If you choose to study German, have fun with it. It’s not meant to be stressful. Studying and mastering a concept should feel fun, so make it fun.” That’s the gist of what he told me anyway. I’ll never forget that. Thank you.

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Graduation Year: 2018

Major: Comparative Literature

Minor: German

Why did you choose German as your minor?

I am of German Jewish descent, and maybe for that reason the language, culture, and history of Germany resonated in a specific way that motivated me to study it in depth at Rutgers.

What did you like most about it?

The unflagging clarity of mind that every professor I encountered in the Department exhibited was certainly something I appreciated and admired very much. It’s not really an exaggeration to say that my time working with those professors taught me how to think -- that is, how to take the sort of nebulous ideas and perceptions one has in the world and organize them into something rigorous, systematic, and above all, historically situated. My time in the program felt a little like a lifting of the veil; exposure to psychoanalysis, in particular, opened up a ‘subtext’ in life I had always suspected but not had the words for.

What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it?

After graduating and traveling for a while, I moved to upstate New York and picked up a job as a court reporter in the now-abject landscape of formerly prosperous Rust Belt towns. The job had me travel all over the state and I was routinely inserted into bizarre and surreal locales to document, fly-on-the-wall style, the transgression of the day. It was a particularly elucidating job to take up right after college; my observation of these proceedings was very much colored by the reading recommended to me over the course of my studies, like Kafka and Gombrowicz, for instance.

What are your plans from here?

Right now I’m in the process of applying to graduate schools in order to pursue a career as a psychoanalyst. In retrospect my studies dovetailed quite neatly with this; I doubt I ever would have considered such a path had I not been exposed to psychoanalytic thought at Rutgers. And I do feel, having spent so much time analyzing texts and probing beneath the surface, that my studies prepared me in some way to help others process their lives and untangle some of those unconscious knots.

Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes?

The various courses and programs offered by the German Department were very formative for me: Tales of Horror with Professor Behrmann; Intro to Literary Theory with Professor Levine; Marx, Nietzsche, Freud with Professor Rennie; and the FUBIS summer exchange program in Berlin all come to mind as particularly exceptional experiences.

What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?

Do your readings and study widely. It’s difficult to appreciate the extensiveness of thought and resources contained within the university until you no longer have access to it.

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