The university’s foreign language department held Germany on Campus in the GUC banquet halls on Oct. 15. This was the second year the department organized the event, and there was a considerable amount of students and faculty who stopped by to see what it was about.
German Professor Rebecca Linam mentioned one of her intentions with this event was to show students just how many careers come from German culture.
“It’s a way to show students that there are research, work and study abroad opportunities with Germany,” said Linam. “There are lots of German companies in Alabama, actually, over 100.”
Featured in the event were seven different German companies, with four of them being local to the Florence community. There were representatives for Mercedes-Benz, as well as Trissl Sports Cars and Schönox, a self-leveling compound company. From Trissl Sports Cars, a unique Porsche was showcased outside the GUC during the event.
The other companies that had tables in the banquet halls were Kordt & Co., Hago Automotive, Evonik and Küberit.
Kordt & Co. is a Florence-based consultant agency that serves to aid in industry knowledge exchange between Germany and the U.S., and Evonik is one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies. Küberit promotes the highest quality German engineering to design and manufacture innovative profile solutions.
Alongside these German companies were several UNA departments and student-led groups. The Communications department and History department both held displays, along with UNA’s German Club, two study abroad programs and a German history poster exhibit where students could learn a bit of the language. Also featured in the event were some German games, like German Uno, as well as German trivia.
Senior Madelyn Merriam worked the study abroad table, and she shared her experience of studying in Germany for a full year when she was a sophomore. Her dad is German, having moved to the United States in his 20s, but Merriam said she was not raised to speak the language. After being placed to study in Germany, she took the opportunity to meet her family she had never met, and she truly immersed herself in the culture.
“It was a really good experience and changed my perspective on a lot of things,” said Merriam. “It encouraged my appreciation for foreign languages.”
She pushes for students to take advantage of the foreign language program here at UNA. When you make the effort to learn new languages, you simultaneously learn and embrace new cultures, a life skill Merriam wants to emphasize.
Additionally, there were high school groups invited to tour Germany on Campus, serving to highlight different study opportunities that UNA has to offer. Particularly for German, Professor Linam said, “German is really good in the business world because you don’t really understand the culture until you can meet them one-on-one with their language.”
Highlighting various cultures is detrimental to understanding diversity, especially on campus where international students make up a significant percentage of UNA’s demographic. Professor Linam said the importance of realizing that the rest of the world is similar to yourself, so traveling is such a remarkable worldly experience.
This year’s Germany on Campus was a success in showcasing Germany’s standout features in both business and community.
