Tyler Baughman, Spring 2010
In the spring of 2010 I had a chance conversation that changed the direction of my life. After sitting through a lecture on competition policy in the European Union with Annette Kern, I stayed after class to ask a few questions. During my chat with Annette, she mentioned that the University of Freiburg offers an English-language master’s program in Economics that is specifically designed for international students. At the time, I thought it was an interesting opportunity but knew that I had to go back to Penn State to complete my senior year and that the odds of me pursuing a graduate degree in Germany after that were rather slim. However, as the number of trips rapidly counted down from three to two to one to zero, I realized that I wasn’t ready to leave behind Freiburg and Germany.
As seems to be fairly common with IES EU alumni, the months following the end of the program were filled with nostalgia and a longing to spend more time with people who had become close friends. I began to seriously consider returning to Freiburg when I discovered a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) that fully funds foreigners to study in Germany. When I learned that I received the scholarship, I was both surprised and intimidated at the thought of living abroad for two years. My familiarity with both the city of Freiburg and the IES staff made it an easy decision to apply for the master’s program there. If I was going to live abroad for two years, I wanted to go where I already had a support network. I was fortunate to be accepted to the master’s program and was also offered a job as a housing tutor in Vauban with IES.
Over the last two years, I have worked with more than six groups of IES students. It is certainly a different experience to be on the other side and to be solving problems rather than making them, but I am glad that I have had the opportunity to do so. After being here a while, I sometimes take the beauty of Freiburg and the Black Forest for granted but seeing the awe on the new students’ faces frequently reminds me how lucky I am to be here.
Also, through the help of the EU Center, I was put in contact with individuals running a local newspaper. For the last year I have been writing articles for them on topics concerning US-EU relations as well as helping to establish a partnership of smaller media providers throughout the EU. It’s been a great experience and extension of the coursework covered during the IES EU program. When interviewing German politicians or Members of the European Parliament I am always glad that I had Mike Haynes’ seminar course as a foundation.
With my master’s program drawing to a close, it is sad to think that I might have to leave Freiburg yet again, but I am excited about the opportunities that these last two years created for me. Although it was quite a different experience coming back as a non-IES student, I am left with an even better impression of both Freiburg and the IES EU staff.
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