American Interns 2009
Sarah Hook at U.S. Consulate General Leipzig
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| Sarah Hook |
Sarah was born in Gelnhausen, Germany, but grew up as a U.S. Army brat in various locations in Germany, in the U.S. and in Turkey. She recently graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA with a B.A. in German and minor in International Studies. In the summer of 2009, she participated in an exercise playing the role of a United Nations representative at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA. Sarah would like to pursue an MBA next year and is interested in joining the Foreign Service. Sarah hopes that her internship will provide her with greater insight into what State Department employees are faced with in their work environments overseas.
Andrew Fox at U.S. Consulate General Leipzig
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| Andrew Fox |
Andrew Fox is from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He is currently a fifth year student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will graduate with his B.S. in Economics and Business in May 2010. His first international experience came when studying abroad at the National University of Ireland, Galway in Fall 2007. Now he is in Central Europe and Germany for a second time and hopes this experience will be even more valuable and exciting. Andrew sees his internship at the U.S. Consulate as an opportunity to explore German culture and language while representing the United States and learning about Foreign Service and the State Department.
Melissa Miller at U.S. Consulate General Leipzig
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| Consul Edith Backman and U.S. intern Melissa Miller (right) during the bilingual reading of the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” at Greiz public library on June 20, Thuringia State Days in Greiz |
Melissa was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up near Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her B.A. in German studies from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in May 2004. She had the opportunity to participate in two exchanges with German universities, first at the University of Potsdam in 2002-2003, and then at the University of Leipzig in 2004-2005. Upon returning to the U.S. in August 2005, Melissa completed an internship at America Abroad Media in Washington, D.C. She then worked at the Fulbright Association and the Smithsonian Institution before beginning her graduate studies in the fall of 2008 at Texas A&M University. She has just finished her first year of the Master's Program in International Affairs, with concentrations in American diplomacy and European studies. After graduation, Melissa plans to pursue a career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.
Ivana Djak at U.S. Consulate General Leipzig
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| From left: Ivana Djak and Consul Ge- neral Katherine Brucker at U.S. booth in Thale, Sachsen-Anhalt Tag, June 13, 2009 |
Ivana Djak is a second-year student at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her primary field of study is government, with a secondary concentration in English literature. Ivana was born to Croatian parents in Sarajevo, Bosnia, her family escaped war-torn Yugoslavia and immigrated to Munich, Germany, where she spend the first nine years of her life. Nearly a decade ago, her parents relocated to Columbia, Maryland, a small suburb outside of Washington D.C. Ivana is very interested in communist regimes and the consequent democratization of post-communist Eastern Europe. Last summer, she had the chance to research democratization in local level government across the Balkan countries. This summer, she wants to learn more about the execution of American foreign policy. While she is here, Ivana also hopes to rediscover German culture and language she grew up with and to learn more about Leipzig's fascinating history.
Colby Mangels at U.S. Consulate General Leipzig
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| Colby Mangels at U.S. booth in Thale, Sachsen-Anhalt-Tag, June 13, 2009 |
Colby Mangels is from Valdosta, Georgia. He is currently a third-year student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in International Affairs. His experience with the Federal Republic of Germany began in the summer of 2006 as he took part in the Congress-Bundestag Exchange Program. As part of this jointly funded, U.S.-German student exchange program, Colby was able to spend a year in Mainz, Germany, attending a Gymnasium and discovering the German culture and way of life. From August until December, 2008, Colby worked as an intern in the office of MdB Klaus Hagemann in Berlin. Beginning his internship in the local constituency of Worms-Alzey, he spent approximately one month engaging in local outreach programs with schools, NGOs and businesses. While in Berlin, Colby was fortunate enough to be able to spend some very fascinating days observing and actively participating in the budgetary finance process, as well as the emergency response of the German government to the continuing financial and economic crisis in Europe and America.
