Alumni

Robert Lindner

As a lawyer working internationally in Germany, I am very thankful for my German language education I received at Texas State University. Most importantly, the Texas State curriculum focused heavily on not only ensuring students gained the necessary conversational skills in the language, but ensuring a strong grammar foundation. Importantly, it was also during my time at Texas State that I began to learn how to read critically through long foreign language texts. It was this training that truly prepared me for my career in Germany.

During my time at Texas State, I stayed close to my professors who always encouraged me to learn more, to dig deeper and to stay focused on my dream: living and working in Germany. Dr. Valentina Glajar and Dr. Agnieszka Nance were not only mentors to me, but true friends whose doors were always open.

Jonathan Manshack

Life for me after Texas State has been quite interesting. Immediately after graduating, I moved to Germany and for 6 months I was an Au pair in Stuttgart. I then came back to the states and worked in law enforcement for 3 years as an Emergency Communications Officer (911 dispatcher) for the Hays County Sheriff's Office. I then moved to Portland, OR for grad school and received my MA in TESOL with an emphasis on applied linguistics. Still residing in Portland, I now work at a tech company doing linguistic work where my role is to help develop and improve voice-recognition software. German has come in handy for this job because my workplace is a very international environment (several German speakers are adjacent to my team!) and from time to time I had to work on some German data sets -- not to mention that knowing another language was very beneficial to acquiring this position.

Dr. Conner and yourself were two of my favorite professors at Texas State. What made you two shine was that, not only did you two remain available for communication after I graduated, you both took the time to answer any questions/requests I had post graduation -- that really meant a lot to me.

Your and Dr. Conner's knowledge and expertise in the field coupled with amazing teaching methodologies absolutely helped my language skills grow in such a short time. I thoroughly enjoyed that you two were quite strict about having students speak more and more German in class and to not let us stray back into English, especially as the course levels advanced. The German play/drama course was the most memorable for me and stays close to my heart but I have to say that all of the German courses had equal importance to me.

Bradley Barr

Following the completion of my Bachelors of German at Texas State, I moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky, where I completed my MA in Germanistik. Following this, I moved back to Austin and first worked at a tech company as a Tier II customer support representative for a software company, acting as a support liaison with a German firm the company provided software to. Following this, I completed my state teaching certification for LOTE: German EC - 12th and then taught for a brief period in a public International Baccalaureate Middle School as a German Teacher in Austin. I subsequently began working as the Education Director at the German-Texan Heritage Society in 2018, where I currently coordinate informal German classes at all levels for preschool-aged children through adults. Starting in 2019, as part of my work at GTHS, I oversaw the launch and state licensing process for the German International School of Texas at Austin, Austin's first German-immersion preschool. We've grown each year, adding a Kindergarten and 1st grade class in each subsequent school year. The school continues to grow, and I currently serve as assistant director there. In addition to these responsibilities at GTHS, I am also a certified tester for the Goethe German Language exams, which we offer quarterly there. Finally, since 2019, I've also been instructing German I - IV at Austin Community College.

I learned and grew so much while working towards my BA in German at Texas State, and I still have the fondest memories of participating in upper-level German courses, especially Dr. Glajar's German on Stage, Dr. Bach's German Cinema, and Dr. Conner's Grammar Review courses. My studies and experiences at Texas State were invaluable and helped prepare me for my later graduate coursework and professional experiences, especially those involving German. I received significant assistance and support from the Texas State German department faculty when I was interested in pursuing my Master's degree, and I am forever grateful for all of the guidance and wisdom I received from them. 

I currently live in South East Austin with my wife, Kelly, who is a Texas State alumna, and son, Nolan.

Patrick Thielemann

After graduating from Texas State, I went on to attend UTSA to obtain my MBA. Upon completion of the program, I got a job with the US Air Force as a Contract Specialist at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. Soon after I got married to a fellow Bobcat and last year we welcomed our first daughter to the world.

As a native German speaker I had little linguistic knowledge to gain, but it was amazing to see how fluent the students became due to excellent professors and an interesting curriculum. I look back fondly at the “German on Stage” course with Dr. Glajar. This class gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and act. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I took it twice!

Overall I must say that minoring in German added a lot to my great experience at Texas State.

Wyatt Constantine

Since graduating in 2013 I spent 2 years working at a small private school in Austin, then in summer 2015, I shipped out to Ethiopia for Peace Corps, where I was an English teacher in the Bench Maji zone of southern Ethiopia, where I leaned Amharic. I am currently serving as a English teaching fellow in the Israeli town of Rehovot and have accepted a spot at the University of Leipzig for an MA in African studies. I leave in October.

Well, I had this wonderful teacher named Dr. Valentina Glajar, who led a class called German on Stage which was the best language class I have taken thus far. It was immersive, challenging, and highly enaging. I played a lead role in a rendition of Andorra by Max Frisch, which proved to be as challenging as it was rewarding. I can safely say I learned more German in one semester than the previous whole year.

Jack Mades

After graduating from Texas State, I moved to Gersfeld, Germany in order to complete my Fulbright Fellowship. That was a lot of fun and I even got to bring my fiancée Anna out to live with me for the last few months that I was there! After returning from Germany, Anna and I moved to Virginia where we married and I attended The Basic School (TBS) which is a six month training program for Marine Corps officers. Upon completion of TBS I got the job of Communications Officer and we moved again to Twentynine Palms, California. There I attended Basic Communications Officer Course (BCOC) for six months and learned more than I ever wanted to know about radios and computers. Upon completion of that course we moved a third time to Oceanside, California (north county San Diego). I was stationed at Camp Pendleton which is a Marine Corps base just north of Oceanside as a communications officer in 9th Communications Battalion. There I served as both a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander. At the moment I am in the beginning of a nine month deployment to Iraq, where I am serving as the Communications Officer for Task Force Lion (a Marine Corps advise and assist task force). Anna is still in California with our dog Leo. I don't have as many occasions to practice German as I once did, but I when I do have the chance (as I did just last week with a fellow Marine who grew up in Germany), I've found that I am still quite fluent and I owe much of that to the excellent instruction I got in the Texas State German program.

As far as German courses that I remember fondly, I would have to say all of them! The classes I received from Dr. Glajar in particular were a lot of fun. She was always a great source of guidance for me both in selecting an educational path and being an awesome example of a hard-working and dedicated professional. Her German Drama course where we learned a play and then performed it was hands down my favorite course in the German curriculum. I learned so much during those classes and they were a blast! Dr. Conner's German history classes were also a bright spot, he was extremely passionate and it sparked an interest in history in general and German history in particular that I still have.

Emily Rothbauer

After graduation I traveled to Mühlheim, Germany on a Fulbright grant. While performing the duties of a Fulbright teaching assistant, I used this opportunity to sharpen my German language skills. Not three months after returning to Texas, I landed my first career job as technical writer, working with German engineers who operate from a town close to Mühlheim.

By far, the most memorable class that Texas State's German department had on offer while I attended was German on Stage. Our professor, Dr. Glajar, led rehearsals with the focus and zeal of a seasoned director gunning for a Tony Award. Her passion elevated us and drove us to take pride in our performances.

Blake Petrea – B.A. in German 2014

I graduated from Texas State University in 2014 with a double major in German and Philosophy. My experience at Texas State, particularly within the German department, led me to a number of opportunities down the road. Dr. Glajar was a huge influence in my studies, beginning with her lower level courses in German, and then her more advanced courses like German Literature and German on Stage. Glajar showed a great dedication to the German Language Department through her mastery of communicating the nuances of the German language in her lessons, as well as the organization of numerous extracurricular activities that allowed students to engage in German. I was also a member and treasurer of the German National Honors Society at Texas State.

Through my studies, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Salzburg, Austria, where I fell in love with Austria and its capital city, Vienna, after a visit on a weekend trip. After graduation, I had made the decision to continue my studies in the German-speaking world. I was accepted into the Erasmus Mundus Global Studies consortium where I studied for one year at the University of Leipzig in Germany, and then the following year, at the University of Vienna. I was able to take courses in German and communicate fluently due to my studies at Texas State. I fell in love with Vienna and ended up staying for nearly three years.

Unfortunately, visa restrictions made it difficult to stay, but Vienna remains very near and dear to my heart. I recently returned to the United States after completing my Masters in Global Studies, and have just accepted a job offer in San Diego, where I will be working in global trade compliance. My journey has been, and will continue to be, a winding road that began with my first lesson with Glajar. So, a huge thank you to Dr. Glajar, and the entire German department for their dedication, and for making the German language fun and accessible to Texas State students.

José Manuel González Izquierdo

I graduated from Texas State University (TSU) with a German major and Music minor in 2015. Afterwards, I got a scholarship and a graduate assistantship at Missouri State University (MSU), where I got a Master’s degree in Electronic Media Production. During this time, my studies focused on Sound Recording Techniques in Virtual Reality projects such as Games and 3D Films. On December 2017, I graduated from MSU. My plans for the future is to combine my expertise of Language and Sound Recording to do comparative research. While MSU have influenced me to do research, TSU’s German faculty have influenced me on being a scholar of language. I got fond memories from Dr. Conner’s classes, as well as Dr. Glajar’s German on Stage, where I met fellow classmates. Through these interactions, I met people from different parts of the US and the world, got to know different perspectives, and shared my passion towards learning German. The overall culture within the German department is a varied one, where its faculty focuses on the student’s learning experience through a safe environment, yet challenging. Now, I get to share the German language and culture with my fiancée, who also speaks German and has a passion for languages and other cultures as well.

Thank you Dr. Conner, Dr. Glajar, and Ms. Hill for making the learning process a fun and interesting endeavor!

Maximilian Hall

In December of 2017, Maximilian completed his MA in Public History with an emphasis in collections management from Texas State University. For his focus, Max conducted internships with the Texas Historical Commission and the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.

While working on his MA, Maximilian worked for the Texas State University Archive. His work focused on oral history transcriptions of former staff and faculty.

Maximilian now supports the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University through work on federal cultural resource management projects, collections upkeep, and contract processing for state, federal, and private archeological projects.

He continues to maintain his interest in German culture through conversation, music, and film.

Memories of the German Department:

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Bach’s film course. In the course we watched and discussed various critically acclaimed films produced in Germany throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century.

Dr. Glajar’s Business German was an informative and practical course. I referenced my course work to apply for an internship at the Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg, in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

I want to congratulate Dr. Conner on his native proficiency of the German language and for creating a welcoming classroom atmosphere.

Madelon Hillegeist

After graduating with my degree in German and English, I attended graduate school for Student Affairs and Higher Education at Texas State. After I received my masters, I was offered a position as the Assistant Director for Student Leadership Programs at University of Texas at Dallas. Now, I plan programs that focus on global leadership and leadership development for the workplace. After getting to know faculty members on campus, I also got an opportunity to work with students in our exchange program with Philipps-Universitat Marburg based on my background in German as well as my focus on cultural competency and leadership. Outside of work, I am still extremely close with my Texas State German crew! We still talk frequently, and see each other as much as possible.

I could write pages and pages about my wonderful experiences with the German Department (and Modern Languages department as a whole), so narrowing it down is difficult for me, but here it goes! I would say my favorite class had to be Business German. It was also one of the most challenging classes I took, but I learned so much and found that, for the first time, I became more motivated to excel in my studies. If it wasn't for Dr. Glajar challenging me, supporting and encouraging me, and giving me so many opportunities to grow as a student and as a leader, I know I would not be where I am today!

Zana Isakovic

I'm doing great! I live in Berlin now. Here I am working as a Native English Speaker at the German/English bilingual Montessori Kinderhaus Friedenau. I am loving it!!! Perfect job for me. And I get to be immersed in the German language. I think and speak of the TSU German department often. I thought it was absolutely fantastic and I had a fabulous time studying with you! I'd have to say I enjoyed the German on Stage class very much. I also really liked Dr. Bach and his Advanced German Grammar course. The study abroad program in Vienna was amazing, too. I couldn't choose a favorite! Keep up all the excellent work and best wishes to all of you!

Hailee Anderson

After graduating from Texas State last May, I moved to Arlington and began a PhD program in Chemistry at UT Arlington. I just completed my first year of classes with a 3.5 GPA. I am now starting a research project in which I will analyze the compounds that affect the flavor and color of local craft beers. Maybe I will get to test some German beers as well!

Although I’m enjoying Arlington I definitely miss Texas State and San Marcos, particularly floating the river and taking German classes! I always had fun watching movies in Dr. Siwak’s German culture course, grabbing a beer with friends after class at Taproom, and going to dinner with Dr. Glajar and classmates after the German on Stage performance. I also miss helping with the Texas State German Contest and seeing all the cool outfits and gingerbread houses 😊

Katharina Redlin

After I graduated with a BA in English and German I was very lucky to get full-time employed by the Department of English. A big part of this opportunity was my former employment as a student worker for the Modern Language Department, as well as working together with the German faculty as tutor and assistant. Those connections within the university helped me build my resume and find a job right after my graduation. Whenever I needed a letter of recommendation, future employment advise or anything else, all German faculty took the time to help out wherever they could, which I am really grateful for. Especially Frau Dr. Siwak became a mentor to me and even got actively involved in my job search. I could have not asked for greater support than the one I received from the German faculty.

Allan McCarthy

Allan McCarthy (Class of 2023), German minor and tutor, a summa cum laude student who also performed in the German on Stage production of "Hier sind doch alle irre," has been accepted into a master's program in Information Systems and Analytics at TXST.