UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sydney McQuiggan, who graduated from Penn State in August 2023 with bachelor’s degrees in German and world languages education and a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), said she had always felt somewhat isolated due to her academic and career interests. After all, she was the only student in her graduating class who majored in German education and “never had anyone to be able to talk about German lesson planning with other than my student teaching supervisor.”

Since graduation, McQuiggan, who was the student marshal for the College of the Liberal Arts, has found not only a sense of community among like-minded educators but has had the opportunity to immerse herself personally and professionally in two German-speaking countries: Germany and Austria. She participated in the 2023 Goethe-Institut Summer Academy in Germany, where she learned different approaches to teaching American students about German language and culture. She then moved to Austria in September 2023 to participate in the Fulbright U.S. Teaching Assistantship program, where she will teach and serve as a U.S. cultural ambassador to Austrian high school students until the program’s conclusion in June.

The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German culture, society and politics. This includes the exchange of films, music, theater and literature.

According to McQuiggan, the Goethe-Institut Summer Academy facilitated open dialogue on pedagogical issues in German language education.

“While there, we worked on different ways to teach German in the classroom,” McQuiggan said. “We also discussed whether we should always be pushing German students to have grammar that’s 100% accurate.”

McQuiggan and her peers also questioned the importance placed on reading and writing in American foreign language classes. While those skills are not irrelevant, she said, they are nowhere near as crucial as conversational abilities when traveling in a foreign country.

In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers opportunities in all academic disciplines to graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals to pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach English abroad. 

McQuiggan’s selection into the program was no surprise to Amy Crosson, associate professor of education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

“I had a feeling that Sydney would be a great candidate for a Fulbright,” she said. “Not only are her language skills and academic background strong, but she’s also the kind of student who supports her community. For example, on class projects she would listen carefully and engage with her peers’ ideas, then she would give detailed and supportive feedback. Sydney was well aware that relocating out of the U.S. and adjusting to a new culture would not be easy, but she is not afraid of a challenge!”

As part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, McQuiggan teaches English in two different schools in Gmunden, Austria (about three hours from Vienna). During classes, in addition to formal lessons, she discusses aspects of American culture such as elections and holidays. At one of the schools, which prepares students to go into the workforce directly after graduation, she also provides instruction on job interviews.

One of the main benefits of participating in both the Goethe-Institut and Fulbright programs, McQuiggan said, is having the opportunity to compare German and Austrian cultures. She added that she thinks Austria is too often overlooked by the general public.

“I look forward in my future classrooms to be able to share things about Austria,” she said. “Austria is not as talked about as much as Germany.”

Living and working in Austria has also provided McQuiggan with exposure to different dialects and vocabulary within the German language — which enhances her adaptability in navigating those distinct spheres.

“Certain vocabulary is only used in Austria,” she said. “If I use the one used in Germany, it would give away the fact that I’m not from here. It’s nice having a whole other set of vocabulary that I’ve never had before.”

McQuiggan’s choice of career is the result of her family background, early experiences and personal interests. Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, she is of German descent but grew up only speaking English. In high school, she took Spanish, French and German and then sought out a German Saturday school that was associated with the German Language School Conference — the only national organization dedicated to the needs of community-based German language schools in the United States. 

“By the time I decided on Penn State, I’d been really enjoying my time in the German Saturday school, so I decided to major in German,” she said.

McQuiggan, who started tutoring in her first year of high school, also discovered a passion for teaching and decided to major in education as well. She eventually added on a TESOL minor, further enhancing her ability to teach language effectively in a classroom environment. In spring 2023, she had the opportunity to put those skills into action when she taught beginning though advanced German as a student teacher at Altoona Area High School.

“I was placed in a really great school with a wonderful mentor teacher,” she said. “It gave me a safe space to really explore my teaching style and learn how to manage a classroom and practice teaching the content.”

The education and training that McQuiggan received in the College of Education, she said — particularly her student teaching stint — provided her with an edge in her overseas experiences that not all of her peers in the Fulbright program possess.

“The College of Education has definitely prepared me for what I’m doing now and what I’ll be doing in the future,” McQuiggan said. “When I apply for teaching jobs in the U.S., I have no fear of being in front of a classroom and managing students, which is where I feel I’m supposed to be. I think Penn State helped me grow into who I am in the classroom and that I’m so comfortable in that setting.”