Language Department Alumni Reunion 2015

On Saturday morning, April 25, 174 alumni from the Departments of German, Scandinavian & Dutch, French & Italian, and Spanish & Portuguese came to the beautifully remodeled Folwell Hall to enjoy the company of faculty, staff, and new or old friends. They gathered on the fourth floor for coffee and pastries, voted for the best student photographs from the past year's study abroad experiences, and donned "conversation pins" to facilitate discussions of how their language studies have enriched and informed their lives. Everyone then went to the first floor to participate in three mini-class sessions, choosing from the following seventeen mini-classes, taught by a mix of faculty, students, and alumni:

Session A

• Teaching Abroad - the Benefits and Challenges
• Regions of France
• Language Learning Outside the Classroom
• Finnish Origins: Linguistics & Genetics
• Danger in Francophone Africa
• Convivencia in Medieval Iberia

Daniel Karvonen's Mini-Class "Finnish Origins: Linguistics & Genetics"

Session B

• Saints and Soldiers in Medieval France
• The Historic Cultural Phenomenon of the Cuban Rumba
• Language Leaning Assumptions
• Growing Anti-Semitism in Europe
• Divine Decadance: Berlin in the Roaring '20s
• U.S. Latino Theater

Rick McCormick's Mini-Class "Divine Decadence: Berlin in the Roaring ‘20s"

Session C

• 25 Years After the Wall
• Only in Italy: Events not to be Missed
• Food, Energy & Politics in Germany
• World Cafe: Contemporary Language Evolution & Impact of New Technologies
• Latino Immigration

Post-It Notes from the Mini-Class "World Cafe:
Contemporary Language Evolution & Impact of New Technologies"

Here is what some of the alumni have said about their experience at the reunion:

“The Alumni Reunion held on April 25th was fantastic! It was a great opportunity to reunite with old friends and meet new ones with a common interest in European languages. It was also nice to meet students in an environment where alumni could share their experience and application of language skills outside of academia to assure students that there are opportunities in the business world for language grads. In addition, the workshops provided a great way for alumni to get a taste of the classroom experience after so many years away from school."

- Blaine Bos
B.A. 1976, History and Dutch
Vice President, Health Care Modernization at Optum

“The Language Reunion was an excellent way to return to campus, learn what current students are doing, connect with friends, and network with like-minded language grads. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtfully planned mini-sessions that covered everything from culture, food and travel, to current events and politics. And, for an early Saturday morning start, the coffee was extra black and strong – fitting for the euro-minded crowd! I hope there are other similar events in the future.”

- Eric Brotten
B.A. 2003, German and Economics
Vice President, Global Health Products & Solutions at Optum International

"The reunion was a great opportunity to come back to campus and revisit our classrooms and professors. I felt like I was in college again! I look forward to attending this event again in years to come."

- Hannah Guenveur
B.A. 2010, German and Global Studies
Associate Business Systems Analyst - HR at Ecolab

"It was truly a joy to return to the halls of Folwell, bond with fellow alumni, and best of all, listen to language department professors share their expertise without having to worry about taking a test at the end!"

- John Vaughan
B.A. 2011, German
B.S. 2011, Finance and International Business
Consultant at Deloitte Consulting

“The Language Alumni Reunion was fantastic. Returning to Folwell Hall after two decades really opened my eyes to how far I had come since graduating. As a senior about to graduate in 1994, the question I heard most often was: "A degree in Scandinavian Languages? What are you going to do with that?" At that time, I honestly didn't know and was quite nervous about my prospects, as well. The worry proved to be needless. Twenty years later, I am a successful language professional and the reunion brought together nearly two hundred other language alumni who have succeeded in many industries and professions with their language degrees.

“The format of the reunion made it easy to connect with other attendees. Sitting in the newly renovated classrooms for the mini-courses was a thrill. There was definitely a nostalgic quality about taking a seat in Folwell Hall for a course with the some of the same instructors I had twenty years ago. At the same time, it was fresh and fun. I hope the reunion can become a regular event for language alumni in the future, perhaps even in an expanded format.”

- Kyle Vraa
B.A. 1994, Scandinavian Languages
Owner, Vraa Translation

Photos from the event
Event program

Constantin Parvulescu (Ph.D, 2006) publishes book and accepts new position

Orphans of the East: Postwar Eastern European Cinema and the Revolutionary Subject, a book on postwar Eastern European film by Constantin Parvulescu (Ph.D, 2006), has been published by Indiana University Press.

Additionally, he has accepted new position as research fellow at the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Navarra, Spain, to start in September 2015.

He is also a visiting lecturer in critical thinking in the Department of Contextual Studies at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Sonja Fritzsche (Ph.D., 2001) named Chair of the Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages Department at Michigan State University

Sonja Fritzsche (Ph.D., 2001) has been named Chair of the Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages Department at Michigan State University.

McKenzie Stupica (B.A., 2014) wins Fulbright

McKenzie Stupica (B.A., 2014) has been awarded a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Germany. She is currently a teaching assistant at the Germanic-American Institute in St. Paul and has served as an educational intern and student guide at the Weisman Art Museum. Stupica was excited by the variety and accessibility of art while studying for a year in Berlin and applied for a WorkART fellowship that allowed her to return to Germany as an intern at a Kunstverein. She plans to reconnect with German artists and arts organizations in the next year.

She is one of seven seniors at the University of Minnesota who have been awarded grants to study and teach abroad following graduation by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Fulbright grants cover all travel and living expenses for one academic year. z.umn.edu/vr3.

Jennifer Decker (B.A., 2011) accepted into M.S.Ed. TESOL program and awarded FLAS Fellowship

Jennifer Decker (B.A., 2011) has been accepted into the M.S.Ed. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program in University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and has been awarded a Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship to study Hindi.

Elizabeth Stopka (B.A., 2013) accepted into M.A. Program in ESL

Elizabeth Stopka (B.A., 2013) has been accepted into the M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) for Higher Education program at the University of Minnesota.

Carrie Collenberg-Gonzalez (Ph.D., 2011) accepts Assistant Professor position

Carrie Collenberg-Gonzalez (Ph.D., 2011) has accepted the position of Assistant Professor of German at Portland State University.

Valentine Pakis (Ph.D, 2008) accepts position as Assistant Professor and Drafting Editor of the Dictionary of Old English

Valentine Pakis (Ph.D, 2008) has accepted a position at the University of Toronto as a new Assistant Professor of Medieval Studies, where he will teach Old Norse and Gothic and serve as Drafting Editor of the Dictionary of Old English.
Details.

Andrew Patten (Ph.D, 2014) receives postdoc

Andrew Patten (Ph.D, 2014) has received a two-year, full-time postdoc fellowship at the Universität Erfurt, to begin January 2015. He will be working in the Laborgruppe "Kulturtechniken": Ein interdisziplinäres Projekt der Geschichts-, Literatur- und Medienwissenschaft in Erfurt und Weimar (Laboratory for "Cultural Techniques:" An Interdisciplinary Collaboration between History, Literature, and Media Studies in Erfurt and Weimar).

Angelica Fenner (Ph.D., 1999) edits essay collection

The Autobiographical Turn in Germanophone Documentary and Experimental Film, a collection of essays edited by Angelica Fenner (Ph.D., 1999), has been published by Camden House.

Juliette Brungs (Ph.D., 2013) working for Social Pedagogic Institute in Berlin

Juliette Brungs (Ph.D., 2013) is working as a Project Coordinator for the foundation SPI (Social Pedagogic Institute Walter May) in the project "Diversity-orientierte und Interkulturelle Kompetenz" (Diversity-Oriented and Intercultural Competence) in Berlin, developing and teaching workshops for state employees and smaller businesses on the topic.

She is continuing her academic work with the Postdoctoral and Doctoral Colloquium "The Aesthetic of Applied Theater" under the guidance of Professor Mathias Warstat at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Constantin Parvulescu (Ph.D., 2006) publishes book on Postwar Eastern European Cinema

Constantin Parvulescu (Ph.D., 2006) has written a book on postwar Eastern European film, Orphans of the East: Postwar Eastern European Cinema and the Revolutionary Subject, to be published by Indiana University Press in June 2015.

Beth Kautz to conduct workshop on Integrating Sustainability Topics in the Foreign Language Classroom

Beth Kautz is traveling to Washington and Lee University in Virginia this week to conduct a faculty workshop on topic of "Content-based Instruction Beyond the Norm: Integrating Sustainability Topics in the Foreign Language Classroom." In addition to the faculty at Washington and Lee, the workshop will be shared via Adobe Connect with virtual attendees from other institutions that are part of the Associated Colleges of the South.

Rebecca Aylesworth (M.A., 2014) now Academic Advisor in University Honors Program

Rebecca Aylesworth (M.A., 2014) has been hired as an Academic Advisor in the University Honors Program.

Ariel Schwarz (B.A., 2013) named Team Coordinator at World Economic Forum USA

Ariel Schwarz (B.A., 2013) has been hired as a Team Coordinator at the World Economic Forum USA in New York City.

Jennifer Hoyer (Ph.D., 2010) named director of new program in Jewish Studies at the University of Arkansas

Jennifer Hoyer (Ph.D., 2010) has helped found and is the director of a new
program in Jewish Studies at the University of Arkansas, where she is an associate professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures.
Details.

Jacqueline Listemaa (M.A., 2013) awarded SWEA Scholarship

Jacqueline Listemaa (M.A., 2013) was awarded the Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA) Minnesota Scholarship to support her Summer 2014 visit to Finland, where she visited the Åland Islands and Helsinki to gather and compile materials about the Swedish-speaking population in Finland.

These materials will be available for use in GSD's Swedish classes to introduce students to the Swedish-speaking population and culture in Finland.

Leo Riegert (Ph.D., 2005) awarded tenure

Leo Riegert, who earned his Ph.D. in our department in 2005, has been awarded tenure at Kenyon College in Ohio.

Michael Demianiuk (B.A., 2013) awarded Fulbright Scholarship

Michael Demianiuk, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in Spring 2013 with a History major and a German minor, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to continue his studies and work in Germany. He is currently there as part of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program.

Colleen Kim awarded Fulbright Teaching Assistantship

Colleen Kim, a graduating senior and a German minor, has been awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for the 2014-15 academic year.