The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, or DAAD) awarded a generous grant to SUNY Oswego student Ruthie Taber for summer study in Germany.
A junior from Manlius, Taber majors in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages with minors in German and linguistics.
At Oswego, Taber has completed multiple German courses through the advanced level. She also participated in Oswego’s Kempten Summer Program last year, which she enjoyed.
“I absolutely loved being in Kempten last summer,” Taber noted. “The guided program was my first experience abroad, and it allowed me to experience Germany alongside friends from Oswego. Because of Kempten’s location, I was also able to visit Austria and see the Alps as part of the trip, which was an incredible experience.”
That first exploration paved the way for this more focused experience.
“This summer in Göttingen, I will be taking intensive German language courses, and I hope to reach a higher level of fluency as a result of the program,” Taber said. “I am excited about the fact that this is an international program and look forward to studying alongside students from many different countries.”
Taber will spend July at the Goethe Institut in Göttingen; this entity is Germany’s official culture organization. Extracurricular activities offer students the opportunity to discover local and regional cultural attractions.
The DAAD grants cover student tuition, housing, health insurance and extracurricular activities. It also includes a travel stipend and an extra stipend for spending money. The DAAD is the largest German funding organization for student and researcher exchanges.
“This is a great honor for Ruthie and for SUNY Oswego,” said Patrick Schultz of the modern languages and literatures faculty, who helps students with their applications. There are so many funding opportunities to study in the German-speaking countries. Hopefully many more Oswego students will apply and win DAAD scholarships in the future.”
Schultz added: “Congratulations to Ruthie und Viel Spass im Sommer (Have fun this summer)!”
–- Submitted by the Modern Languages and Literatures Department