Academics and Research

Lowe off to Germany on a Fulbright after graduation

Stephanie Lowe won a Fulbright scholarship to teach English to high school students in Germany. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

Even though she enjoyed her time growing up outside of Boston, Mass., Stephanie Lowe has for many years felt a pull from across the Atlantic. More specifically that pull, she has since learned, was coming from Germany.

“I remember when I was in middle school and high school, my family traveled to neighboring Austria almost every year for ski vacations,” Lowe explains.

Then in high school she took part in an exchange with a school in Munich. Since then, she’s been back several times to visit her host family.

And as a University of Denver student, she studied in Tübingen for five months.

The trip turned out to be the pivotal experience that motivated her to work hard so she could return to Germany to teach for a longer stay. She did work hard. In fact, when she graduates in June, she’ll have both a bachelor’s in German and a master’s in curriculum and instruction. In five years at DU, Lowe finished both degrees and still studied abroad for five months.

It’s work that has paid off handsomely, too. Lowe has won an esteemed Fulbright scholarship that will start this summer and last for one year with the option for a second year. Through the grant, Lowe will teach English to high school students.

“[The grant] is very important to me because it gives me the chance to continue to teach and at the same time, get more insight into German life and the language,” she says.

Lowe will move to Germany later this summer and stay for at least a year, but more likely two or three years, she says.

“At that point I’ll decide if I want to teach English in Germany or German in the United States,” she says. “I might decide to get a master’s in German and teach at the university level. We’ll see.”

Lowe credits her professors for her success at DU. Specifically she names professors Carol Helstosky, Royce Tyson and Wilfried Wilms.

“Without all their guidance, I’d be lost pursuing a career in German and unsure of my potential. I’m very thankful for everything DU has given me.”

Wilms, associate professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures, calls Lowe “among the most reliable participants in the classroom over the years,” noting that she “proved to be a gifted reader of both text and film. Her interests in the German language and culture have a long and visible trajectory, especially given her young age.”

Lowe adds that she’ll miss all the friends she made at DU, especially those she met in the teacher education program. “We accomplished a lot in two years, and I’m proud to have been a part of that. I’ll also miss the campus and city. Throughout my five years here, I connected with the campus and the city, and leaving will be very difficult.”

The undergraduate Commencement ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 9, at Magness Arena. For more information or to watch a live stream of the ceremony, visit www.du.edu/commencement.

 

 

 

 

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