Postcards from Abroad: Fall Semester 2024

Stefanie Vining ‘25

French IEP & Chemical Engineering

Top: Stefanie and friends camping at the WEI and posing with friends during a concert hosted by the university. Right: Getting hot chocolate and pastries at a cafe in Paris with friends. Bottom: The basketball team Stefanie joined at UTC-post practice. Left: Posing with friends during a weekend trip to le Touquet in the north of France. Another FIEP student (Vrishab Dhavale) is also in this photo! (Photos courtesy of Stefanie Vining)

My favorite moments thus far have been meeting other international students and creating lasting friendships with them. I have been exposed to different cultures from all around the world and have been able to share holiday traditions with them. Many are leaving at the end of this semester, and I will be moving to Bordeaux for my internship. Funnily enough, I found my internship by going on vacation to Nice this summer with my international friends! Crazy how some things work out. I’ll be working within Early Stage Business Development at Unither, in the ophthalmic department on the acquisition of new products to add to the company portfolio. I am really looking forward to the nicer weather and being closer to the ocean.

Jacob Cultrera ‘25

German IEP & Chemical Engineering

Jacob Cultrera (top left) playing trumpet with the TUBS orchestra during its end-of-semester “Femininomenon” concert, featuring music by German women composers. (Snapshot taken of the performance courtesy of Dr. Sigrid Berka)

Jacob Cultrera heeded the advice shared by the IEP in his preparation meetings to find ways to engage with locals through extracurricular activities while abroad. While studying at TU Braunschweig in Germany last fall, he joined the university’s orchestra. At URI Jacob played with the marching band, and since he will be graduating after the completion of his internship this year, finding a home within the music community during his study semester abroad seems like it was the perfect fit for him!

Dakota Watjen ‘26

German International Business Program, Supply Chain Management Major

Top left: A Christmas market directly in front of the city hall in Hamburg. Top right and bottom left: Parts of the old HafenCity in Hamburg. Middle: Dakota in front of a map of the European Union in the European Parliament in Brussels. Bottom right: Picture of the town hall of a small city in the Netherlands called Delft, where Dakota visited a friend, rented a bike and cycled around to see how life was in this student city, which he found to be really beautiful. (Photos courtesy of Dakota Watjen)

Overall, my semester so far has been great. I have gotten the opportunity to reconnect with several Germans who had come through the IEP House, visiting them in Frankfurt, The Hague in the Netherlands, and even showing them around Hamburg. Some of my favorite moments have been going to a Faber concert, getting a table at Oktoberfest in München, visiting Brussels and learning about the EU with a group of fellow Gilman Scholarship awardees, the Christmas markets in Hamburg, and visiting those friends who came to the US as part of their own exchange. I have also learned that compared to the US, the French eat a lot of seafood for the Christmas season!

As for the internship, I will stay for another semester in Hamburg working for Evitado Technologies, a start-up which develops collision avoidance systems. It was co-founded by Andrew Moakes ’13, a German IEP & MCE alum. My project will focus on system improvement and I’ll also be doing an analysis on whether it’s worth them trying to get a certain manufacturing certificate or not.

Nathaniel Nichols ‘26

German International Computer Science Program, Studio Art & Philosophy Major

Photos depict the Christmas Pyramid at the Darmstadt Christmas Market and select scenes from Nathaniel Nichols’ Christmas travels, including views in the Black Forest, Luxembourg, and Aachen. (Photos taken by Nathaniel Nichols)

Grüße aus Deutschland! In my time so far here in Germany, I’ve found that the Germans really know how to do Christmas – there are large Christmas markets in almost every city, with lights and gifts and Glühwein and Christmas cheer galore! I’ve also gotten a chance during the Christmas break to take a big tour of western Germany and some neighboring countries; I’ve seen so much beautiful nature and interesting historical sights in the Black Forest, Konstanz, Trier, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Aachen. Travel is so convenient here, and no matter what direction you look, there’s always something new (or rather, centuries and centuries old) to be discovered!

In addition to the fun and travel, though, I’m finding my cultural immersion to be a huge learning aid in improving my language skills, both in social circles and in my technical courses at TU Darmstadt. After just four months here, I’m already speaking a lot more comfortably and fluently than when I first arrived, which will be a huge help when I start my computer science internship at BMW in Munich in the spring. I’m looking forward to more travel, more language learning, and more memories to take home!

Matthew Tibbitts ‘26

German International Computer Science Program & Applied Mathematics Major

A panoramic view of the crowds, buildings, and rides at Oktoberfest München from the beginning of October. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Tibbitts)

As I start the new year, the Weihnachtsferien (Christmas Break) have given me the opportunity to look back over all the experiences I have had in my over four-month stay in Germany so far. It seems there are hardly a few weeks in Germany without some sort of festival going on. From Oktoberfest to Weihnachtsmärkte, as well as all the pop-up festivals in between, there is so much to see, taste, and experience of German culture, as well as plenty of souvenirs to collect. As classes start up again soon, I look forward to continuing my studies here at the Technical University of Darmstadt as they continue to strengthen my language skills, which will help prepare me for my upcoming internship with Mercedes-Benz during the spring/summer semester. I look forward to experiencing more of German culture and making more memories in the new year!