Anna Cramm

Overall Experience

My overall experience in Germany was very memorable. This experience allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture while working with new teachers and students. I learned a lot about myself as a teacher through this experience and am hopeful to apply the skills I learned in my own classroom.

Learning experience

The most valuable learning experience I encountered was building relationships with my students. From this experience, I learned how much they look up to their teachers and how much they want to learn from us and even teach us.

Memorable experience

My most memorable experience was the students greeting me each morning when I arrived at school. The students would all say hello to me and would either come to give me a hug, a high-five, or just greet me in general. This never failed to put a smile on my face and was always my favorite way to begin the day.

What did you not expect?

Something that I did not expect was for the students to be done with school at 1:00 pm each day. This surprised me because this is not the case for any schools in the states. This was difficult to adjust to at first, but it taught me to make good use of the time that I had in the classroom.

What advice would you give?

My biggest piece of advice for other students that want to study abroad is to take the opportunity and run. It can be a scary thought for some people to travel across the world, but you will meet so many new and interesting people, you will get to explore the world, and you will have lifelong memories to cherish.

How has this experience impacted your life?

My experience in Germany impacted my life and goals by reminding me to live each day to the fullest and embrace new adventures. It helped my career goals by reminding me of my passion for teaching, even when working with barriers such as language.

How did you learn about this experience?

I learned about this international opportunity when I visited Iowa State my senior year of high school.

International Connections