Article by: Phia Anderson

With all the different programs offered by the Excellence Center in Europe between their internship and language options, the center caters to a wide variety of people who come from all walks of life. Regardless of race, religion, skin color, sexuality, or gender orientation, everyone is welcome at the Excellence Center!

This summer alone, the center is hosting over twenty different people from many different countries, including the United States, England, Northern Ireland, Argentina, Belgium, China, and more! The backgrounds of the people who come here are as diverse as the places they come from, with everyone from college students to teachers to parents to young professionals having a place here. 

 Let’s get to know three of them and how they ended up at the center!

MacKenzie Zwillman

MacKenzie Zwillman is nineteen years old and from Long Island, New York, in the US. She’s currently going into her sophomore year of college at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studies journalism, which is part of what made the Excellence Center’s Volunteer in Media & Journalism Program a great choice and fit for her. 

“In Long Island there’s not much to do over the summer,” she explained, “so I wanted to do something abroad and eventually move abroad. I thought this would be great for me. And when I was looking up other programs, this one was the most affordable compared to other programs and ones available through my school.”

During her time at the Excellence Center this summer, she is able to gain experience through volunteering in a field related to her studies, knowledge about the reality of life abroad, and a new interest in the German language! She is very glad she decided to come take part in this program with the center and highly recommends it. 

Hugh Morrison

Hugh Morrison is twenty-five years old and comes from the Washington, D.C. area in the US, and graduated from Denison University in Ohio in 2020 with degrees in global commerce and Spanish. He has always had an interest in Arabic and moving abroad, which is what drew him to the Excellence Center’s Summer Program in Arabic. 

“I got hooked on learning Arabic in college,” he explained. “I spent a lot of time [this year] looking for opportunities in D.C. to learn Arabic, but then one night I went through a rabbit hole, found a website that offered a lot of different programs, and this was the highest-rated Arabic program.”

Learning Arabic at the center has also helped him gain clarity on where he wants to head with his life and career!

“I’ve wanted to move abroad for a while and I think I really wanted to take this summer to give me that clarity. I feel like my body and my mind are so much more in sync here. So I think it’s solidified that I do want to do something abroad. I also really, really want to work in a language school. I love the atmosphere of it. So I think a lot of things are becoming more clear to me about maybe not where I’ll end up specifically, but at least a direction to go in.”

Emily Poole

Emily Poole is a fifty-five-year-old teacher from a small village in rural Alaska in the US. Since taking German in high school almost forty years ago, she’s always had a great interest in the language and an intention to one day become fluent. 

“This summer I had the opportunity to make that happen,” she says, “and started looking for a school or program where I could study. I found the Center online, and everything I read made it sound even better than what I had in mind.”

As part of the Excellence Center’s Summer German Program, she spends her week learning German and teaching English, and she thoroughly enjoys all aspects of her time here with the center in Halle!

“My experience has been exceptional. I have learned so much– not just the German language, but local history and culture, not to mention meeting people from all over the world and sharing ideas and languages and stories. It’s been fantastic! I am loving working with my English students, too.”

So, not only has doing her program at the center allowed her to get back to German like she’s always wanted, but it’s also enabled a social and cultural exchange with people she wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to meet otherwise and continue her teaching in a way that uplifts the local community here. 

Conclusion

In all, the Excellence Center has many different programs in volunteering, interning, and learning languages that cater to a diverse and vast plethora of people from all walks of life! Whether you’re a college student trying to gain experience in your field, someone who’s passionate about working with a local community, or someone who simply wants to learn their language of choice, the Excellence Center has a place for you– in a unique and respected program, and our family here. 

 

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