Brian Schwegler

EUROTECH NEWSLETTER WINTER 1997

Student Spotlight: Brian Schwegler

Hello from Germany!

My name is Brian Schwegler. I am in Germany for my fifth and final year of the University of Connecticut’s EUROTECH Program. Here I will complete the courses necessary for my BS degree in Chemical Engineering and a BA degree in German. This past summer I was in Cologne for three months participating in the Bayer Summer Internship Program. I am currently in Constance on the Connecticut Department of Higher Education Baden-Württemberg exchange program.

Working this summer at Bayer AG in Leverkusen was a great opportunity to get industrial experience in a German firm. This program started with a one-month intensive language course at the Carl Duisburg Society in Cologne. I spent the following two months working in a chemistry research laboratory in the heart of a 30,000 employee chemical industry. As a summer intern I had an opportunity to take a tour of the industrial park and see many of the working processes that I had learned about in my chemical engineering studies at UConn. In the lab I was able to learn how the research process functions and to sharpen my German technical vocabulary relating to chemistry. Our lab concentrated on organic synthesis of new medicines. I believe that having this experience will be an advantage in the future working for a German company.

In the Baden-Württemberg exchange program I am studying at the University of Constance. This program started with a one-month intensive language course in Heidelberg. Constance is in the southernmost part of Baden-Württemberg. I can easily walk to the Rhine river, lake Constance, or the border of Switzerland. I am taking classes in chemistry, economics, computer science, and German literature. They are all in German of course. Being surrounded by German is the fastest way to improve one’s German comprehension. Here I can also see the differences and similarities in the German and American educational systems, cultural standards, and ways of life. Working and studying abroad has been filled with experiences that I will never forget. It has also been filled with challenges to be overcome. I have met many people from other lands, traveled through most of Germany and its bordering countries, earned some money, work experience, and gained a cultural understanding which will last a lifetime.

EUROTECH NEWSLETTER WINTER 1997

Hello from Germany!

My name is Brian Schwegler. I am in Germany for my fifth and final year of the University of Connecticut’s EUROTECH Program. Here I will complete the courses necessary for my BS degree in Chemical Engineering and a BA degree in German. This past summer I was in Cologne for three months participating in the Bayer Summer Internship Program. I am currently in Constance on the Connecticut Department of Higher Education Baden-Württemberg exchange program.

Working this summer at Bayer AG in Leverkusen was a great opportunity to get indusrial experience in a German firm. This program started with a one-month intensive lanuage course at the Carl Duisburg Society in Cologne. I spent the following two months working in a chemistry research laboratory the heart of a 30,000 employee chemical inustry. As a summer intern I had an opportunity to take a tour of the industrial park and see many of the working proesses that I had learned about in my chemical engineering studies at UConn.

In the lab I was able to learn how research process funcions and to sharpen my German technical vocabulary relatng to chemistry. Our lab conentrated on organic synthesis of new medicines. I believe that having this experience will be an advantage in the future working for a German company.

In the Baden-Württemberg exchange program I am studying at the University of Constance. This program started with a one-month intensive language course in Heidelberg. Constance is the southernmost part of Baden-

In the Baden-Württemberg exchange program I am studying at the University of Constance. This program started with a one-month intensive language course in Heidelberg. Constance is the southernmost part of Baden-Württemberg. I can easily walk to the Rhine river, lake Constance, or the border of Switzerland. I am taking classes in chemistry, economics, computer science, and German literature. They are all in of course. Being surrounded by German is the fastest way to improve one’s German comprehension. Here I can also see the differences and similarities in German American educational systems, cultural standards, and ways of life.

Working and studying abroad has been filled with exeriences that I will never foret. It has also been filled with challenges to be overcome. I have met many people from other lands, traveled through most of Germany and its borering countries, earned some money, work experience, and gained a cultural understandng which will last a lifetime.

EUROTECH NEWSLETTER FALL 1998

Sojourn of a EUROTECH Graduate by Brian Schwegler

Yes I am still here. Three years ago I could not have imagined it. I have been living in Germany for the last 21 months, and can still remember the first time that I heard about the EUROTECH Program. I was in the third year of my chemical engineering studies and wanted to begin learning German. The language interested me because I would have the possibility to go abroad where one can use it properly. When I received an offer from Bayer for a position as a summer intern in Leverkusen, Germany, I was excited although I could not believe that I could live an entire summer in Gerany. I was then the fourth year of my engineering studies at UCONN and still needed many required humanities courses for my German major, when I decided to finish my degrees with two semesters at the University of Konstanz in southern Germany. During the winter semester the weather was foggy which helped my studies and learning German. The spring semester on sunny Lake Constance was perfect for mountain climbing and water sports.

When my study aboad and with it my univerity requirements came to an end, I had to think about how my life should proceed. Since I was still in Germany and enjoying it, I got the idea to apply first to chemical firms in Germany. Because of my summer work experince at Bayer in Leverkusen I received an offer as a chemical engineer in the technical development secion for fluid processes in distillation.

There are of course advantages and disadvan- tages to working in Ger- many. The biggest advantage is the 30 days vacation each year, compared to 10 days at Bayer in USA. My goal is to swing a “job rotation.” Then I will be able to maintain my 30 days per year vacations in the USA.

When one lives in the middle of Europe, it is easy to go abroad for vacation. One can travel everywhere by train, and it is cheaper when one is younger than 26. Since being in Germany I have seen every corner of this country and have visited 10 other countries. The disadvantage is the amount of tax that a resident of Germany must pay. A good method of meeting people in Germany is to join a club. In Leverkusen I joined a jogging club and a flying club, and am learning to fly gliders.

I am certain that my experience at Bayer is imporant for a possible position at another firm, whether in Europe or the USA. I am still taking 2 hours of German instruction each week, so that I can, for example write this letter with proper gramar. When one lives in Germany one learns much that cannot be taught in an American university. I have never intended to live indefinitely in Germany, but don’t know how long I will stay. One thing is certain, my experiences here I will never forget. The EUROTECH Program has changed my life drastically.