Study Abroad Leads to Education and Career Overseas
Rob Scheid (Class of 2004, BA-International Management,
Minor-German) is a Butler Alumnus who is currently pursuing his
Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Philipps University of
Marburg.
At Butler, Rob often struggled with the German language, as many
foreign language students do. Feeling he needed to immerse himself
in the language and culture, he spent the spring semester of his
junior year in Marburg, Germany working towards his German minor,
improving his language skills, and experiencing what would become a
life changing semester abroad. His stay provided him with the
cultural experiences and friendships that took him one step further
than many foreign language students.
Upon graduation, he decided to return to Marburg to continue his
studies of the German language. He spent one year visiting language
courses provided by the university to bring his German up to a
level that would allow him to pursue a Master's degree completely
immersed with other German students. In the meantime, he found a
part-time job working for a local publishing house with
international ties. Here, he put his business education as well as
his cultural and language understanding to good use. Working as a
sales representative and accounts manager for Beam-Verlag, his
responsibilities included selling advertising for a pan-European
trade publication and acting as a liaison between English-speaking
customers all over Europe and the German-speaking office in
Marburg. Rob continues to work for Beam-Verlag to this day and has
increased revenues for his primary publication, RF & Wireless
Europe, while improving intercultural communications and recruiting
new clients from the U.S.A., among other countries.
After this first fruitful year, Rob passed the German language
exam for international students (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den
Hochschulzugang) and enrolled in the Master's program for Peace and
Conflict Studies (Friedens- und Konfliktforschung) in Marburg. The
program is conducted in both German and English, giving it a
multidisciplinary, international flair. The small group of Master
students (about 30 per year) provides an atmosphere that in many
ways reflects the small-class atmosphere of Butler.
During this time, Rob has studied transatlantic relations,
peacebuilding, and post-war justice systems, to name a few topics.
One class included an excursion to Sarajevo, Bosnia to meet with
many international organizations involved in the post-war
peacebuilding process. Additionally, he has continued to pursue his
language interests and learned to speak Italian and basic Spanish.
He completed an internship in Padua, Italy at a small company in
the fall of 2006, where he branched out yet again to expand upon
his ever-broadening cultural experiences.
In addition to his studies and work, Rob has also worked as an
Orientation Guide for incoming international students at the
university. Here he has been able to pass along the useful
information he has learned to the next generation of international
students, while working with students from every corner of the
world.
In the spring of 2007, Rob completed an internship with the
United Nations Development Programme in Geneva, Switzerland.
Working in Communications, his work included planning global
conferences on issues as wide-ranging as Business for Development,
Commodities, AIDS/HIV, and Media Training. The conferences have
taken place in France, Brazil Kenya, Niger and South Africa. He
additional has helped draft press releases and other press material
for the UNDP.
Rob will write his thesis on Italian War Crimes Trials in Italy
after World War II and the lessons learned for international
transitional justice. His research will be conducted in German,
Italian, and English and he expects to graduate in September
2007.
Rob has recently lined up a job at the organization Atlantik-Brücke e.V.
based in Berlin. It is one of the leading German-U.S. transatlantic
organizations working to improve relations between the two
countries in the fields of politics, economics, and beyond. He will
begin upon completion of his Master's program in September
2007.
Without his Butler preparation, none of this would have been
possible. His experiences with the Department of Modern Languages
at Butler and the opportunities made available by the study abroad
program planted the seeds that have since grown into a global
perspective. The world has literally opened up to him.
If you are thinking about pursuing your education/career in
Germany, feel free to contact Rob at scheid.rob@gmail.com and ask
him about his experience.