Current Ambassador spotlights coming soon!
Our past Ambassadors!
Jen Ciolino
My name is Jenna, and I am majoring in German and International Relations and Diplomacy. I plan to graduate in the spring of 2023. I am planning to participate in the Fulbright Scholars program to teach English in a German-speaking country and become a Foreign Service Officer. This career path will use my knowledge of the German language and culture as well as the communication skills that I developed from my German major. I decided to get serious about German in high school because I saw firsthand how language is an important part of building a strong community. When I began at Ohio State, I was excited to see that our German club here builds a close community and lasting friendships. Right now, I am working to get the Translation and Interpreting Certificate here at Ohio State. I am translating historical governmental documents, combining the knowledge and skills from both of my majors to make primary resources accessible to those researching the Holocaust.
Riley Hoover
Hallo! My name is Riley Hoover and I am a second-year student. I am majoring in German and Political Science and minoring in Economics. I am very involved in campus life, as I am part of the Casual Debate Club, Buckeye Tennis Club, German Club, and a residential advisor. I decided to add German as a major during my first semester at Ohio State because I love the language and want to be able to use it in my future career. I look forward to working on my fluency throughout my classes at Ohio State and during my travel abroad as an Ohio State Student. My German classes are always my most enjoyable and interesting classes, and I would encourage anyone interested in German to pick up a major or minor!
Amos Jiang
My name is Amos Jiang, and I am a fourth-year undergraduate international student from China, majoring in Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy, and minoring in German and History. After graduation, I plan to pursue a master's degree In international Relations in the UK, and then possibly pursue another graduate degree in a German-speaking country if possible. During my freshman year, when it was time to choose which language to study, German was my personal choice and the reason for that is my passion for German philosophy, literature, and history. Even though our Philosophy Department is dominated by scholars who study the Anglo-American tradition, my true interest is German philosophy; so, I was really keen on reading great authors like Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger in German because the English translation often distorts the beauty offered by the original work and makes them overly complicated. Such interest is not merely enough to motivate me to study German as a minor, however, a brilliant department filled with an excellent faculty and a variety of resources does. The German Department at OSU is wonderful. The instructors of different levels are not only excellent at teaching the materials but also have the ability to make the process engaging and interesting. The Department also offers many courses on German literatures and cultures to give students an all-around understanding of the experience of living in a German-speaking world. Learning German is very fun at OSU!
Amy Muhlenkamp
Hi! My name is Amy Muhlenkamp. I am a Secondary Math Education Major with a minor in German. My interest in German studies comes from my childhood when I lived on an American military base in Bamberg. Studying German at OSU has been incredibly rewarding from the relationships built with brilliant professors to the friendships made with other classmates. We also have a German club that hosts fun events to meet new people and practice the language.
Madeline Smidt
My name is Madeline Smidt, and I am a Computer Science & Engineering major who is also minoring in German. I am from Bay Village, Ohio, and in my free time, I like to paddleboard, snowboard, & go mountain biking. I chose to study German because Germany plays a huge role in the world of engineering. Furthermore, some relatives and family friends also speak German, so it has a fairly decently sized impact on my life.
Gwendolyn Stamper
My name is Gwen and I am a third-year student pursuing a dual degree in Forestry, Fisheries & Wildlife, and German! I am extremely passionate about protecting the world’s natural resources as well as foreign language education. Germany is at the forefront of many sustainable initiatives that I believe Americans have a lot to learn from. During my career, I hope to utilize my language skills to learn from German environmental perspectives and how we might transfer them to environmental practices in the United States. On-campus, I am involved with the School of Environmental and Natural Resources Leadership Board, German Ambassadors, German Club, Mountaineers Club, and the German House Learning Community. I also work part-time as a COVID Testing Assistant and an Entomology Student Assistant for the Strange Bumble Bee Lab.
Brian Thomas
Hi, my name is Brian Thomas and I am a second-year student pursuing majors in both German and Public Management, Leadership, and Policy with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. In high school, I had the opportunity to spend my junior year studying abroad in Germany and living with a host family, who I am still very close with. This experience inspired me to pursue a degree in German, as Germany has become somewhat of a second home with a second family to me. I hope to go to graduate school in Germany once I graduate.
Lisa Vogeler
Hi, my name is Lisa! I am a 2nd-year student majoring in German and Psychology. After growing up in a German-speaking family, I was really excited to join the German club my freshman year. I loved being able to surround myself with other German students, and the experience led me to declare a German major! I have loved becoming a student in the German department, learning a lot about German culture and history, making friends with other students, and of course, improving my language skills.
Jack Westin
Hallo! My name is Jack Westin and I am a third-year finance student here at Ohio State. I decided to minor in German because I’ve always wanted to learn the language and feel like a native when traveling there, not to mention the fact that German is an important business language. I have really enjoyed my time in the German program, mainly because of the knowledgeable professors who teach to make us better speakers and writers and not just to prepare us for a midterm. I’ve gotten much more confident in speaking German and am exploring the possibility of doing grad school in Berlin.