I would like to open this by saying that this assignment has really gotten me to think. Never before have I felt this much pressure as I have this quarter spending two and a half months thinking about the next two to five years of my life. It was definitely something that I never have thought as hard about until it was something I would be GRADED on. Even now, when the time has come to complete this assignment, I still have nothing concrete. But, after reflecting more in-depth on my personal and professional interests, I definitely came to something that I wish to follow in the next few years.

How did I come to this? Well, it starts with my cultural background. Like many white Americans, I have European roots. My mother is from Germany, but she has spent most of her life in America, raised by her American father and German immigrant mother, who, of course, are now my grandparents. Just as my mother was raised with heavy German influence, it was continued on in the raising of my brother and me. It consisted of being exposed to little phrases and words in German such as ‘goodnight’, ‘I love you’, ‘Grandmother’, and counting from 1-10 to eating homemade authentic German meals. In high school, I decided to expand my vocabulary and took German as my foreign language. Halfway through college I took a couple more German courses and then studied the language abroad in Vienna, Austria last spring. Up until this point, I had never been to Europe, so I was just looking forward to three months of partying while receiving a year’s worth of foreign language credit. I now look back that time in Vienna as being the main reason for my trajectory today.

In Vienna, not only did I have the time of my life, as any other student does studying abroad, but I became so fascinated with European culture itself that I knew that it had to be a part of my life somehow, I just did not know how. I came home that summer with a lot on my mind. One, my German was still not that great, and yet I wanted to learn more. Two, I knew that could be achieved by taking more German classes at UW and then have it be my minor, but that would mean more time in school, and I was already behind enough as it was. Another thought was to take some International Studies classes to learn more about Europe in general (not just German speaking Germany or Austria), but that also would mean more school since only Speech Communication classes make up my schedule until I get my Bachelor’s Degree in August of 2001. And my major thought, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE? So there I was, young and lost- a Speech Communication major with an overwhelmingly growing interest in international relations with Europe and the determination to be fluent in the German language.

My path began to take shape when I joined AIESEC this past October. I happened to pass by a flyer on the wall in Denny Hall inviting people to join an information session about an organization that sends students or recent grads on paid internships all over the world. I took immediate interest, thinking that this would be a great way to get back to Europe, intern for a company in Germany or Austria and thus be in the best situation to speak German.

So this is what I plan to do thus far. I want to find an internship in advertising or marketing, and preferably with a company that markets products outside of its own country. If I could intern under someone whose job it is to do this, it think it would give me great experience and enable me to find a such a job where I could travel outside the US, use my ability to speak a language widely used in Europe and market or advertise a product while using my skills gained from the study of Speech Communication.

Created by Monica Ulmer: [email protected]