Alumni Spotlight: Menyae Christopher

Government & Politics and Germanic Studies, 2016

I graduated with a degree in International Relations and Germanic Studies in December 2016. As a current staff member of the University, I am currently working at the Education Abroad Office, in an environment that is helping me develop many skills and provides multiple opportunities for me to grow as a young professional.

This summer and until next year, I will be participating as a Fellow of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX). The program was created as a public diplomacy program, and as a cultural ambassador, I am looking forward to represent the US and the University of Maryland abroad. This program also offers an intensive language course and requires participation in various courses at a university for the first 6 months, followed by a 5-month long internship in my career field. While the program seems to be challenging, I expect it to be as equally rewarding. My acceptance into the CBYX program would not have been possible without the help of the faculty members in the Department of Germanic Studies, who not only taught me the German language and culture, but also allowed me the opportunity to learn outside of my own borders and mature as a person. Although graduating with a double degree was difficult, the benefits have been and will continue to be innumerable.