- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
My STEP Project was the Dresden Summer Language Program, which is an eight-week intensive language program in Dresden, Germany. This program included 11 credit hours of Ohio State German language and history credit along with field trips throughout Saxony and Germany.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
There were many understandings and views of mine that changed through my STEP Signature Project. This project exposed me to a lot more variety of culture and ideas than I had ever been before. This allowed me to form new opinions and views towards myself and others. Throughout my time in Dresden, I learned a lot about how many people in different cultures think so differently than me because of how they were raised or where in the world they grew up. This was very interesting me because I am generally an open person, and this was even more expanded by my time in Dresden meeting a lot of new people. Even though so many people have different ideas, I also learned that most people are more similar than we realize. This experience expanded upon and reinforced the idea that people are just people no matter where they grew up or live.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
There were three major relationships and interactions that led to the transformations that I addressed in the previous question: the introduction of different ideas and the reinforcement of human similarities. The first of these relationships was the relationships I created with other students at the Technological University of Dresden. These other students were very interesting to talk to because they ere in a very similar place in life as me. The major difference between the two groups was where we grew up, in the United States or in Germany. This was very interesting to me because even though we had so much in common, there were many ideologies that are uncommon in the United States that are very popular in Germany. This was a very interesting relationship to me because I was able to get very close with many people who were very similar to me who I could talk to about lots of ideas and current events around the world.
Another category of important interactions in to my transformational experience was with older people I met in Dresden. Dresden used to be a part of East Germany, so many older people who currently live in Dresden grew up and spent their young adult lives in East Germany. This gives them a perspective that is nearly impossible to experience in the United States because East Germany was so closed of from the United States during the existence of East Germany. Therefore, many of these older people provided a perspective on East Germany and socialism in a way that I had never experienced because I have always lived in the United States.
Finally, the third major interaction that impacted my transformational experience was with German High Schoolers. In Germany, their education system gets divided pretty early in year, so this highs school that we had an event with was essentially a college preparation school. These students reminded me a lot of high school students in the United States because of their humor and personalities. While I have spoken a lot of people who were very different from me and had many different beliefs, these students really showed how similar people are everywhere they are. This was very interesting to me because although the two ideas I have discussed seem to be opposing, but in reality, they are more similar than we may realize.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
This experience has been very valuable to my life, both personally, academically, and professionally. Personally, German language has always been hugely important me because I have invested so much of my life into this passion. My German skills have truly improved so much through this program, which has been hugely rewarding. Academically, this program has nearly completed my German minor, and I am currently taking my final required course for this minor. This experience has also encouraged me to maximize my time in college by taking as many language courses as possible, and I have recently been more seriously considering a double major with German rather than just the minor. Finally, this program has also influenced my professional goals by opening opportunities in other parts of the world that I had not yet considered. I have had quite a few prospective employers comment on my experience and ask me how it influenced me, which has been a great topic of conversation at career fairs and interviews, especially with firms who are active in Europe and Germany. Overall, this STEP project has been valuable in nearly every part of my life.
