Profiles of Former Villagers: Working in STEM
Published: April 17, 2017
Our villagers go on to do many things, oftentimes using Deutsch! To get to know some of these Villagers, we’re bringing you a series of blog posts about former Villagers “in the field”.
Our first profile brings us to the STEM field and a sechs (six) year villager, Eric “Erich Bersin. Erich is currently a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researching how we can use quantum mechanics to build neue Technologie (new technology). While Erich was at Waldsee, he participated in both the Märchenwald and Grüne Welle programs, but the STEM program wasn’t available at the time. As a budding scientist, Erich knows he would have leapt at the chance to learn Deutsch in a technical setting.
Even without the STEM program, Erich is grateful for his Waldsee experience. Waldsee helped make Erich who he is today; the Erfahrung (experience) of learning a language through living it helped him form friendships he still has today. After finishing Uni (university), he received a Fulbright Fellowship to spend a year at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München doing physics research. Waldsee’s immersion setting made it so that Erich was well prepared to live in Germany and helped him adjust more quickly than the other Fulbright fellows.
Waldsee helped make Erich into a more well rounded Wissenschaftler (scientist). One of the biggest conferences in his field is in Deutschland (Germany), and he knows that his Deutsch will continue to help him learn and collaborate with other scientists! Even though he didn’t get a chance to participate in the STEM program, Erich thinks that young people interested in STEM should take part in Waldsee’s Programm (program). Science macht Spaß (is fun) and it’s even more fun at Waldsee mit Freunden (with friends)! Doing science in a foreign language will help you broaden your understanding of both Wissenschaft (science) and Sprache (language). Take it from Erich – your deutsch skills will almost certainly come in handy when it comes to STEM!
Interested in STEM auf Deutsch? Join us this summer to help start your path to success! Check out http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/youth-languages/programs/german-stem-d-four-week-high-school-credit-program for more information!
