Language has always played a big role in my life. I studied French in school and then had the good fortune to live abroad for two years in Paris and Bordeaux, France. My first year, I attended a French school with adaptive classes, half English/half French; the second was in a fully French school where I was treated just like the French students. During both school years, I was immersed in French culture and made strides toward becoming bilingual. These experiences have helped shape me into a globally-minded citizen, who can appreciate and listen to many diverse viewpoints with an open mind. I try to keep my language skills up to date by taking in a French series or movie when I have spare time and speaking French to any French person who crosses my path.
I also studied German at Rose-Hulman and then participated in their study-abroad program in Germany. During that short program, I was able to learn more about the German culture and language and to earn a certificate in factory automation from the Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg. The skills I learned from this study abroad were useful for my factory automation work at Daifuku Wynright. The PLC program languages, while different than what I learned in Germany, used the same fundamentals, which allowed me to quickly learn the layout and assist in the commissioning and development of new distribution facilities. Though my German language skills are nowhere near as good as my French skills, I’m trying to keep my fundamentals alive in my spare time until I have more time to work toward fluency.
