Though there are many opportunities to take courses and have cultural experiences in Heidelberg, there’s no reason that students can’t get practical professional experience while brushing up on their language skills. In the American Junior Year program, students are encouraged to take up one of many available Praktikums (internships) which are provided through Heidelberg University, most of which are completed in German. With a semester of hands-on experience, it’s entirely possible to come home with a new skill set that will translate well into a resume. Far more than just a way to network in Germany, these positions leave students with some rare opportunities to challenge their own viewpoints and create long-lasting memories.
This article will be the beginning of a small series of articles which explore specific examples of students in the AJY program and their internships. Through a short interview, students are invited to share some of what they’ve learned and their thoughts about how their internship has affected their study abroad in Heidelberg. From working with younger students to helping in a brewery, prepare for colorful and personal inside looks at what is possible through the internship opportunities arranged by AJY.
Heather Clancy is a history major with a Civil War Era Studies minor studying at Gettysburg College in the United States (class of 2015). Her internship in Heidelberg is currently being fulfilled by assisting the University Archive, where she works closely with documents up to hundreds of years old.
Can you tell us a little about the Archive itself and what it’s dedicated to doing?
“The archive for Heidelberg University archives the history of the University, the student body, and the professors from its foundation in 1386 to the present day. They keep documents such as matriculation books, as well as flyers from old student events. Obviously I haven’t seen much that’s this old because at Gettysburg we work with things from the time of establishment in 1832, so it’s really impressive to work with materials this old.”
And what tasks are you specifically helping with as a part of your internship?
“Currently, I have two main tasks. I help with the fulfillment of research requests from English speakers, because it’s specifically helpful to them when I can write them back as a native English speaker and make sure that they get what they need. For example, if someone tells me that their grandfather went to Heidelberg University in a certain year, I can look in our records and see what we can find out about them. Secondly, I’ve also been working on a Flugblattsammlung, or in English, the archive’s flyer collection. In that we’re documenting the flyers for various student groups on the campus such as student politics. Some of it is mundane information, but some of it relates to the Vietnam War or students accusing professors of being Nazi supporters who should be ejected from the school. I’m also translating press releases for new projects into English.”
Could you tell us about some of your best experiences?
“My favorite thing so far has been going through the Flugblätter, especially going through the duplicates to save space and move extras into deep storage. My supervisor told me that I could hang onto some of the duplicates to use in my final paper and just as a lover of history. It was really interesting that instead of going into storage I get to keep them!”
Have your language skills with German come into play in a major way, and has your native understanding of English been useful as well?
“Well, while I’m working I have to speak to other employees and interns in German, so I have to be confident with the language. While translating professional emails, I also have to be able to switch between languages, so it’s nice to have both German and English to help me.”
You’re a history major at home. Do you think that this internship will support your studies at home, and if so, how?
“Yeah, it’s definitely important for history majors to have experience with archives, especially for research. It’s good to have a behind the scenes experience with them, because it helps to teach you how to approach research requests. It makes it very easy to know how to ask for materials.”
Has the German perspective of historical events changed your perception of the topic?
“I really enjoy my history class here [at the University] because it’s not entirely different from a previous course at home, and although the professor is objective, historians bleed into their work and I think it’s interesting to see history through a European perspective. It makes it more apparent why you have to be careful with objectivity and making that distinction.”
What are you looking forward to working on at the archive for the rest of the semester?
“At the beginning of June or so, I’ll be starting to work with the Bildarchiev, or the collection of images, and it will be interesting to get this experience to see the material culture of an era. I think it will be interesting to see photos of similar things that I’ve experienced and compare my view with them, like the differences between their college experience and mine.”
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