April 10, 2012

Lewis & Clark alumnus awarded fellowship in Germany

A recent Lewis & Clark graduate received the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals fellowship. Through the cultural exchange program, Chris MacLeod ’11 will spend a full year working and studying in Germany.

A recent Lewis & Clark graduate received the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals fellowship. Through the cultural exchange program, Chris MacLeod ’11 will spend a full year working and studying in Germany. 

Chris MacLeod BA ’11
Majors: Rhetoric and media studies and German studies
Hometown: Kentfield, California
 
Tell us about what you expect to be doing while in Germany.

Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange was created during the Cold War to create positive relations between the U.S. and Germany through youth exchanges, and the program still exists due to support from our Congress and Germany’s parliament. Both countries exchange students as “young ambassadors” to study and intern, and through this process of meeting new people, to create positive relationships and experiences. My year in Germany will consist of a two-month intensive language program followed by moving in with a host family, a semester studying marketing (each participant chooses their own field of study), then a five-month internship, hopefully in marketing.

I currently work at a local German bakery in Portland—Fressen Artisan Bakery—and will hopefully continue baking and learning new techniques in Germany. Furthermore, I would like to create a short documentary.

Did you participate in any study abroad programs during your time at Lewis & Clark? If so, what was that experience like?

I studied abroad in Munich my junior year, which is the reason for my return. When I moved to Germany, I don’t think I initially expected to grow as much as I did, nor create a multitude of new interests. The program and the country were both very welcoming and supportive of my stay. I created some of the strongest friendships in Germany, and many of my German friends have visited us in Portland and have found their new favorite city.

If I didn’t study abroad in Germany, I wouldn’t have found one of my biggest passions, and my job, of baking. The experience gave me grand perspectives of both countries while studying abroad and returning to the U.S.

How do you think your Lewis & Clark education has contributed to you seeing yourself as a citizen in a global community?

Although I viewed myself as open minded before moving to Germany, I feel as though I am continually considering my perspectives as well as looking for new ways of viewing and relating myself to my surroundings. In this regard, I try to maintain my international relationships to pursue a revolving perspective and unknown insight. I like to seek out traditions and heritages within my surroundings to understand how I fit within these emigrated, adapted, and created rituals.