I choose Valpo...

because it is the only place where I can be an engineer who speaks German, dances, and occasionally writes papers about Plato.

Katie Rinda knew already as a high school student that VIEP-German was for her.  A mechanical engineer with a heart for the humanities, Katie is double-majoring in mechanical engineering and German, while also taking courses in Valpo's honors college and competing with the ballroom dance team.  As a freshman Katie attended the weekly Kaffeestunde and fearlessly interacted with seniors, professors, and native-speaker community members: a good sign for the fearlessness she'll need when she does her cooperative-education experience in Germany.

“As an engineering, language, and honors student, there was no place but Valpo. Both the German department and the engineering department have spent a lot of time helping me figure scheduling out and preparing me for studying and working abroad. I don't think that anywhere else would have been so supportive."

• Katie has taught in Kinder lernen Deutsch.
• She is combining humanistic and technical education through VIEP-German.    
• Katie can't decide whether to live in the German House before or after her year abroad!