German Student Profiles

“The main reason I chose to come to Valpo is because of the strong German program. Valpo’s German program has given me many opportunities to practice my German language skills, especially the Kade Duesenberg German House Residence. Valpo’s German program has allowed me to feel confident in my German, so I can hopefully work in the business sector in Germany and feel comfortable with the international business environment.”

“The German program at Valpo is one of the main reasons that I chose to go to Valpo. Alongside my International Relations major, Valpo and its German program have truly helped me grow and expand my worldview through their culturally immersive approach to education. I will be studying abroad in Tübingen my junior year, and I am ever grateful for the opportunities that Valpo has given me!”

“One of the biggest reasons that I decided to attend Valpo was the German program. I’ve really been able to grow and challenge myself since I’ve been here, and I have even been able to integrate my knowledge of German into my second major, Music Composition. It has been great!”

“When I enrolled at Valpo, I didn’t know what I wanted to study, except that German had to be part of it. Before my third year I had changed my second major four times. Valpo and the German program offer the flexibility to stick with your passions while exploring new interests with professors and advisors who support you the entire way.”

“I chose Valpo for several reasons. I wanted to combine my engineering degree with German in programs that would push me to be great in both. Additionally, I wanted to go to a school where my study abroad options did not limit me or make it more difficult to be a student. Valpo allows me to combine all three in the Valparaiso International Engineering Program in German (VIEP-German), an amazing opportunity that I did not find anywhere else.”

“The VIEP German and Engineering program was one of the main reasons I chose Valpo over other universities. I like studying many diverse subjects like German, engineering, physics, and education because it allows me to broaden my perspectives so I can tackle problems from many different possible angles. The VIEP program lets me work towards that goal by learning how Germans approach educating their engineers differently than how we do it in the US.”

“I knew that I wanted to develop a global mindset and studying International Economics and Cultural Affairs (IECA) and German has helped me to do that. Both degrees have taught me about international relations, political systems, and about the German language and culture – and it’s been such a broadening experience thanks to excellent and experienced professors. These degrees have prepared me to travel to Germany as well as for a career abroad in international business, government, and more!”

As a pre-seminary student, Ethan ’18 lived abroad in Tübingen, Germany during the spring of his Junior year. Prior to the official start of his semester, he participated in an internship in Wittenberg and often traveled to church in nearby Leipzig, a destination for many refugees from the Middle East. What he experienced in this multi-ethnic congregation had a deep impact on the lengths a pastor may go to connect with the members of his congregation. Listen to Ethan’s story.

“The pastor would say ‘Take, eat’ in the mother tongue of whoever was receiving. He would be saying it in Arabic and Farsi, in German, in English…Having Pastor Fisher as an example of someone who clearly knows his congregation really well that he’s even dedicated to learning Farsi in order to be able to have these interactions with these people who are fleeing to Germany, to Europe for many reasons some of them are religious…to offer that peace, and reassurance and then to be able to hear that in their own language, I think is a beautiful thing. For me…to be able to be so interconnected with the members of the congregation, even to the point where I should even be learning their language and their mother tongue, to be able to communicate these truths to them, it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Sara ’19 spent her entire junior year living abroad in Tübingen, Germany. There, she experienced a profound growth in her faith within a new church community. Being abroad opened her mind to new possibilities and a new understanding of not only her faith, but also of her future vocation as it relates to service. Listen to Sara’s story. Transcript

“Going abroad to Germany opened my heart to a bunch of different possibilities, specifically at the very beginning of my experience in Germany where I didn’t know anyone. I only knew one girl, a previous Valpo student, but I also knew I wanted to grow in my faith. So, I decided to go to her church when she invited me (an Evangelical church, in comparison to my Lutheran upbringing) and I stayed there the whole year. I think because of all the little things that were happening: that I didn’t know anyone, I wanted my spiritual life to change, and I was beginning a brand-new experience in Germany…I think that is what opened me up to the new religious experience that I likely wouldn’t have been open to in the United States.”

In the spring of her junior year, Sarah ’19 spent a semester abroad living in Reutlingen, Germany.  Multiple experiences in different church settings in Reutlingen, Vienna and Rome helped Sarah develop a new perspective on her own Christian faith, while encountering the common practices and beliefs shared by Christians around the globe.  Listen to Sarah’s three-part story. Transcript

Part A: Confirmation services at St. Mary’s Church, Reutlingen, Germany

Part B: Holy Week at St. Steven’s Cathedral, Vienna

Part C: Easter Mass at the Vatican

“In the world, there’s a lot of differences between cultures, but there’s also similarities. Finding that first similarity was really comforting because I felt connected to these people whom I had never met, and I knew they were having the same experience…to what I had, which made me think: Christianity is obviously, and this seems like such an obvious statement, but sometimes it just needs to be said: it’s bigger than your Lutheran Church you grew up in your hometown, it’s bigger than the United States, it extends further.”