Anna Patterson
BA Graduate of German + Global Studies (formally International Studies), 2010
Spring Semester 2009 in Vienna
Anna enrolled at the University of Illinois because of its expansive resource base and large German department. She chose to double major in German & International Studies. Deciding to go abroad was a goal for a long time. Anna always wanted to speak German fluently and it was a great chance to be live in a huge, international city. For a split second, she thought about studying in Berlin, but that didn’t last very long.
Austria has always been a familiar place, as she had visited family there many times growing up. Yet, she was always a guest, and so she was keen on having a place in Vienna she could call home, to take on the night in that beautiful city and to study there in the daytime, just as her mom did.
The choice to join the study abroad program was one of the best decisions she had ever made. The student group was very close and, because of the program’s active director, we had a lot of cultural extras “in the package.” The group always managed to end up at a Centimeter restaurant afterward. (They are very student friendly.)
After that, one thing led to another and Anna now lives in Vienna. She has since done a master’s degree in marketing and has two jobs. She markets the MBA programs for the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna), one of the largest business schools in Europe. She also has gone into business for herself, providing presentation services at events and tradeshows.