German Student & Alumni News

Neues von derzeitigen und ehemaligen Studierenden

Please contact Professor Petra Fiero if you have some news to share!

Four students of German gather in a smiling bunch.
Photo courtesy of Liana Lewis (German, 2013)

2020-2021

  • Jessica Oravetz (German / History) is the recipient of this year's "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German.
  • Jessica Jimenez Arroyo (German-Spanish Dual Language major) was awarded the prestigious Paul Woodring Scholarship from the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.
  • Alumni Carla Hartel and Andrew Erickson-Lapidus "came back" to Western to teach courses for the German Section (online).

2019-2020

Holly Lund (German / Linguistics) is the recipient of this year's "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German. Holly will be spending 2020-2021 in Austria on a USTA Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

2017-2018

Celeste Hufford (German / Elementary Education) is the recipient of this year's "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German. Celeste will be spending 2018-2019 in Germany on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.   

2016-2017

  • Christoph Winter (German) is the recipient of this year's "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German. Christoph will be spending 2017-2018 in Austria on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.   
  • Nathan Drapela (Philosophy & German minor 2015) is returning from Austria this year to start a Ph.D. program in German Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

2015-2016

  • Shannon Andino (German & Anthropology 2014) accepted a position at Seattle Central College in the office of International Student Programs, where she works in international admissions. Prior to her appointment at Seattle Central, she worked for intrax, a company promoting global internships.
  • Deanna Balderson (German 1995) lives and works in Graz, Austria. After graduating from Western in 1995, she completed a Masters' degree in Computing Science at Thompson Rivers University in Canada and then moved to Austria to pursue a career as a technical writer. For several years, she headed the department of documentation and translation at SSI Schäfer. "There are quite a few opportunities at international companies based in Europe who are looking for English native speakers in fields such as technical writing", she writes. "It's an interesting field of work with a broad spectrum of industries." Deanna is now starting her own business.
  • Nathan Drapela (Philosophy & German minor 2015), who received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship last year and currently lives in Austria, published the article "The Price of Freedom: Identifying the Narrator in Hermann Hesse's Das Glasperlenspiel" in the German Quarterlyopen_in_new(opens in new window), one of German Studies leading academic journals.
  • Valeria Fisher (German & Sociology 2013) received a DAAD Graduate School Scholarship for 2016-2018. She will be studying in the MA program "Consumer Affairs" at the TU München. Currently, Valeria works as a trilingual claims investigator at Amazon LLC in Seattle, WA. Read more in Western Today about this accomplishment!open_in_new(opens in new window)
  • Caitlin Golden (German 2010 & 2010 DAAD Graduate Scholarship Recipient) finished her Masters Degree at the Universität Hamburg in Sign Language Linguistics. She is now working for Amazon's LLC Instant Video department in Seattle, as their sole German classifications expert. 
  • Olivia Hale (German & Political Science 2014) received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany).
  • Sara Hedlund (German & Political Science 2013) completed her MA in International Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She will be returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) on the David L. Boren Fellowship (awarded by the National Security Education Program) for the 2016-2017 academic year.
  • Alysha Holmquist (German 2006) is serving the AATGopen_in_new(opens in new window) this year as WA Testing Chair. After completing her MA in German at the University of British Columbia (2009), she spent a year as a Fulbright scholar in Vienna, Austria. She is currently teaching German at Enumclaw High School.
  • Rob Myer (Geology & German minor) is interning at Capitol Reef NP this summer. The internship is through the Geological Society of America, in partnership with the National Park Service. At the park, he is expected to develop and give geologic interpretive talks as well as participate in research projects. The national park system is celebrating its centennial this year and Capitol Reef expects around 1million visitors, of which a fourth are German!
  • Michaela Tutone (German & Cell and Molecular Biology), who is graduating from Western in June 2016, has been accepted for graduate studies in the Netherlands. Starting this fall, she will pursue a Master's degree in Drug Innovation at Utrecht Universityopen_in_new(opens in new window). 
  • Danil Vishniakov (German & Political Science) is the recipient of this year's "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German. Danil will be continuing his studies at the University of Detroit Mercy this fall, where he will pursue a law degree with a focus on immigration.
  • Mark Winterstein (Linguistics & German minor) graduated from Western in 2008, and in 2012, he joined the Navy as a linguist. After about a year of language training, he received an AA in Persian Farsi from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Mark currently lives in Augusta, GA.

2014-2015

  • Rachel Dailey (German & Music) received the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior" in German. She also received an Outstanding Poster Award (Mentor: Cornelius Partsch) from the 2015 Scholars Week All University Poster Session.
  • Liam Fox (German & Linguistics) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Celeste Hufford (German - Elementary Education) was awarded the MCL Loomis/Hanley Foreign Language Scholarship.
  • Sadi Metz (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany).
  • Isabel Miranda Castaño (German / former exchange student from Spain) received a full tuition scholarship to study English, German, and Spanish in the Conferenceopen_in_new(opens in new window) Interpretation Program at the Middlebury Monterey Institute of International Studiesopen_in_new(opens in new window).
  • Matthew Osborne (German 2013) was admitted to the Andover Teaching Fellowship Program at Phillips Academy, where he will be teaching second- and third-year German during the 2015-2016 academic year.
  • Danil Vishniakov (German & Political Science) was awarded a MCL Tuition Waiver Scholarship.
  • Matthew White (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Nathan Drapela (Philosophy, German minor) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Nicole Jennings (History, German minor) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria & Germany).

2013-2014

  • Kole Galbraith (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Michael Hennings (German & Computer Science) was awarded a MCL Tuition Waiver Scholarship.
  • Gesa Kohlmeier (German & Psychology) was nominated for the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior". She is currently working on her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Adler University (Chicago, IL).
  • Shannon Andino, Sadi Metz, and Katya Zmanovskaya (Mentor: Cornelius Partsch) received an Outstanding Poster Award from the 2014 Scholars Week All University Poster Session.
  • Peter Pettersen (Mathematics, German minor) was selected for the German Academic Exchange Service Young Ambassador Program.
  • Carlee Wilson (English - Creative Writing Emphasis, German minor) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany).

2012-2013

  • Andrew Erickson-Lapidus (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Valeria Fisher (German & Sociology) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany). Valeria was also the recipient of a German Academic Exchange Service Graduate Scholarship. She was also nominated for the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior".
  • Elani Koogle (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany).
  • Matthew Osborne (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • Olivia Mothershead (German & English - Literature Emphasis) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Austria).
  • University press release on German Fulbright winners
  • Jennifer Way (German & Communication Studies) wrote her International Studies Thesis (Advisor: Sandra Alfers) on Swiss German dialects. She presented her findings at Scholars Week and received an Outstanding Poster Award in the 2013 Scholars Week All University Poster Session.

2011-2012

  • Elani Koogle (German) was nominated for the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior". For her honors thesis (Advisor: Cornelius Partsch) she translated Vladimir Vertlib's "Nach dem Endsieg" (part of Mein erster Mörder, 2006). 
  • Liana Lewis (German) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (Germany).
  • Samantha Seabrook-Sturgis (Biology - Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Emphasis, German minor) was the recipient of the German Academic Exchange Service RISE (Research Internship in Science and Engineering).

2010-2011

  • Caitlin Golden (German) was the recipient of a German Academic Exchange Service Graduate Scholarship.
  • Sara Hedlund (German & Political Science) was the recipient of the German Academic Exchange Service Undergraduate Study Scholarship.
  • Dana Rafter (German) was the recipient of a Critical Language Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State to study Arabic language and culture in Tunis, Tunisia. Dana also received a National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship to study in Amman, Jordan. He will soon enter the Master’s Program in International Relations at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, where he has received a $30,000 Founder’s Scholarship. He was also recognized as the department's "Outstanding Graduating Senior".
  • Olivia Mothershead (German & English - Literature Emphasis) received a German Academic Exchange Service University Summer Grant.
  • Carla Widman (German & Linguistics) was selected for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a year-long, federally-funded fellowship for study and work in Germany.
Bei der Preisvergabe (von links nach rechts): Sara, Maureen, Caitlin, Carla, Dana.
​​​​

2009-2010

  • Nick Dorcy (German & English - Creative Writing Emphasis) received the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior".
  • Brent Hartwig (Economics) was selected for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a year-long, federally-funded fellowship for study and work in Germany.
  • Jennifer Mankin (Linguistics, German minor) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
  • Maureen McCarthy (German & Anthropology) was the recipient of the German Academic Exchange Service Bundestag Internship.
  • Dana Rafter (German) was the recipient of a National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship to study in Cairo, Egypt.

2008-2009

Kalene Barry (German) received the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior".

2007-2008

Michelle Gilluly (German & Spanish) received the MCL award for "Outstanding Graduating Senior".