German Department at WashU

Our last (but certainly not least) senior profile is of Kendall Dawson (). Kendall graduates with majors in Mathematics and Linguistics, with a German minor. A fun fact about her is that because she's studying remotely, she used her free time this past semester to walk every road in her hometown, with her mother! Her favorite aspect of studying German in our department? "My favorite aspect of the German department was always the people! Whether it was debating about whether a character in a book we were reading was a Stasi informant in 301, chatting while walking back from 404 nighttime movie screenings, drawing characters from the books in 340 on the whiteboard, Denglish conversations at Pizza Pause, or one of the grad students encouraging me about my essays, all the people I met through the department brought so much joy into my life. I feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to interact with you all!"

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Kendall!

Next up, we would like to introduce you to Bridget Tyree (.tyree). Bridget will graduate with a degree in linguistics, with minors in German and computer science. Fun fact about them? They were the co-president of WashU's knitting and crocheting club for 2.5 years. Read about Bridget's favorite memory from studying German: When I was in 102, on St. Nicholas day our professors came in dressed as St. Nicholas and Krampus. They brought in treats and wrapped presents, which were randomly passed out at the end of class and contained different German books. We spent the majority of the class period playing Kahoot, sometimes even playing against the professors. Honestly, that experience was really wonderful, and is probably what pushed me to continue taking German courses and eventually minor in German.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Bridget!

Next up, meet Jordan Bow. Jordan is graduating with majors in African and African-American Studies and German. Jordan's favorite German film is Good Bye, Lenin! and his favorite German word is Sehenswürdigkeiten.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Jordan!

Next up, meet Alejandra Cohen (). Alejandra is graduating with majors in Environmental Policy and Global Studies, with a minor in German. Fun fact about her? She once traveled across the United States in an RV! Next year, Alejandra will be a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Chicago.

Herzlichen Glückwunch, Alejandra!

Next we celebrate Grace Klutke (.klutke). Originally from Venice, Florida, Grace will graduate with majors in Political Science and Global Studies and a minor in German. She plans to attend law school this fall. She says: One course that stands out to me as a particularly terrific memory from my German studies was a German Language class I took sophomore year with Herr Peter Ogunniran. Herr Peter approached each day of the course with enthusiasm. He made the learning experience exciting for the entire class - whether we were studying verb conjugations or German Opera. My classmates and I ended that semester with a newfound excitement for German studies. This passion for German studies carried me through the rest of my WashU career. Over the next two years, I had the pleasure of following my interest through more exciting German courses, interning in City Governance in Germany, and working with Dr. Tatlock on research topics related to German authors and their texts.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Grace!

Meet Lindsey Blacher (.b)! Lindsey is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and will be graduating with a degree in Genomics & Computational Biology with minors in German and Psychological & Brain Sciences. Fun fact about Lindsey: she has a one-eyed dog!

Lindsey will be taking a gap year this next year while she applies to medical school and she'll be working as a medical technician at an Ophthalmology Clinic here in St. Louis

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Lindsey!

This morning, we continue our senior profiles with Liz Keller (). Liz is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and will graduate with majors in History and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, with a minor in German. Liz shares this fun fact about herself: I love to cook and have tried many new recipes this year, such as soft pretzels, bread, pork Milanese, and toasted ravioli.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Liz!

Our next senior is Josh Klier (). Originally from Evanston, IL, Josh majored in Economics and Political Science and minored in German. He says that one of his biggest regrets about his time at WashU is not taking more German classes! Awwww. Next year, Josh will be researching right-wing populism at the University of Salzburg, thanks to a Fulbright award.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Josh!

Next up, meet Maddie Noyes (). Maddie double-majored in Cognitive Neuroscience and Applied Linguistics, with a minor in German. Maddie will be moving to Vienna, Austria in fall to work as a US Teaching Assistant of English through Fulbright Austria!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Maddie!

We continue our celebration of 2021 graduates today with another of our majors, Ted Flaherty ().

Ted will graduate with majors in Physics and in German. One of his favorite memories of his time in the German department was his very first Pizza Pause his freshman year. He met a lot of his future professors, as well as finding out that a bunch of physics majors were also in his German classes. His favorite German word is "Schildkröte."

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Ted!

Our next senior profile is of Yutong Zhang, a double major in German and Linguistics.

Yutong originally started learning German because he wanted to practice a German-based conlang, but German turned out to be even more fascinating. His favorite German word is "Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän." Yutong has a message for any undergrads out there seeing this post: If you are still considering whether to major/minor in German or not, I'd definitely recommend you do so; you'll find that everyone you encounter in the department, both the professors and the students, will be the friendliest and kindest people you've ever met (not to mention that German is a beautiful and useful language at the first place!).

Yutong is the our second 2021 recipient of the David Bronsen Prize for Excellence in German Studies. The prize was established in honor of Professor David Bronsen, a distinguished scholar, teacher, and long-time member of the German Department. It is awarded to a graduating German major on the basis of excellent German language skills and superior academic achievement.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Yutong!

We continue our graduation celebration with a profile of one of our majors, Nicci Mowszowski ().

Nicci is originally from Sidney, Australia and Denver, Colorado and is a German and International Affairs double major. A fun fact about Nicci is that she is a fraternal twin, and her twin sister has an Australian accent, while she has an American one! She says, "I have so many amazing memories from studying German at WashU, though my favorite one has to be from the summer program in Göttingen. A group of us were on the train back from Frankfurt and befriended a group of German students from Kassel. We ended up hanging out and are still in touch today!"

Nicci is one of two 2021 recipients of the David Bronsen Prize for Excellence in German Studies. The prize was established in honor of Professor David Bronsen, a distinguished scholar, teacher, and long-time member of the German Department. It is awarded to a graduating German major on the basis of excellent German language skills and superior academic achievement.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Nicci!

Today, we start celebrating our graduating seniors in the class of 2021! We hope you enjoy getting to know them a bit.
Our first featured student is Rhea Jin, a German and Global Studies double major. Rhea is this year’s recipient of the James McLeod Award for Achievement in German. This award was established in honor of Dean James McLeod, an esteemed professor in the German Department, as well as an exceptional colleague and mentor. The award is given to a graduating German major on the basis of overall excellence in German studies and in extracurricular involvement in departmental activities.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Rhea!

One of Rhea’s favorite memories from her time studying German is from her freshman year, when she participated in the Harry Potter reading group and when the group was asked what their favorite book was, they ALL said Harry Potter, of course!

Her favorite German word is Schnee because the second character of her Chinese name (Xueyi) means snow, even though she was born in April.