STUDENT NEWS

Sara Nack

Germanic Studies Major Brings New Dimension to the Study Abroad Experience

Junior Sara Nack, a Germanic Studies major from Lombard, Illinois, will spend the next academic year in Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. Nack is one of 75 Americans selected to take part in the full-year work-study scholarship program that promotes German-American cultural exchange. The program begins in July with two months of intensive German training at a language school located in Cologne, Saarbrücken or Radolfzell.

Afterward, Nack will have four months of instruction at a German university or college followed by a five-month internship related to her career field of international studies. The city and institution are yet to be determined. Nack is looking forward to the professional training the internship will provide.

"In the future, I plan on becoming a German teacher and, later on, working for a study abroad company where my knowledge of the German language and culture can be applied to improving study abroad programs," she said.

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals was initiated in 1983 by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first German immigration to North America. For more information visit www.cdsintl.org.

Adapted from a UIC News article by Brian Flood, May 13, 2009.