Annett Jurkutat Swartz '02

Home: Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany

Occupation: Educational Program Assistant

Hometown: Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany

Major at Otterbein: International Studies

What have you been doing since your graduation from Otterbein?
After graduating in 2002, I was granted a 12-month internship with the Governor's Office of Multicultural Affairs and International Relations, located in the Riffe Center in downtown Columbus. We acted as a liaison between the Governor and Ohio-based international programs and organizations, state departments, foreign consulates, embassies and other government entities.

In September 2003, I was accepted as an international graduate student at the Ohio State University College of Education, and received my Master of Arts in Social Studies and Global Education in June 2005. While at OSU, I was fortunate to have a Graduate Assistantship, working at the Main Library in the Cataloging Department of German and Scandinavian material. I was also actively involved in the Outreach Program and the Global School Bus, visiting schools and organizations in the Columbus area as a guest speaker on Europe, Germany in particular. I also worked for the school of Teaching and Learning, co-teaching an online course on world cultures and global issues, researching and reviewing resources for K-12 teachers for www.TeachGlobalEd.net and collaborating with several international graduate students as cultural on the Disney book "Our World" (published autumn 2005).

Upon graduation, I returned to my native country of Germany, and I am now working for the American Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main as an Educational Program Assistant in the Regional Support Center. We provide training to Foreign Service Nationals locally employed by all American Embassies and Consulates "on the continent for the continent," responding to changing circumstances and a changing global environment.

What interests and/or hobbies do you have?
Traveling has always been a passion of mine. I am not the type of person who likes to visit tourist attractions. I would rather mingle with the locals and make new friends. I am fortunate to live in the center of Germany with several countries only a couple of hours away by car or train. The infrastructure is highly developed, so traveling is very easy and inexpensive.

I also enjoy assisting my husband in his artistic endeavors, whether being the assistant director for the production of a video or acting as his agent, finding galleries and local spaces for exhibitions and shows.

What is a special Otterbein memory?
I always enjoyed being a part of the International Festivals, and seeing the broad range of international students from all around the globe. Another memory is becoming a member of Mortar Broad during my senior year. Thinking back on the courses I took, two come immediately to mind: "International Law" taught by Dr. Allan Cooper (Political Science, who was also my advisor) and the Senior Year Experience (SYE) team-taught be Dr. Beth Daugherty (English) and Dr. Christina Reynolds (Communication). I came out of both with a different perspective on global issues and humanity as a whole which most likely turned me in the direction of pursuing graduate studies and seeking a job in an international environment.