Kerstin Müller: An AMS student from Germany

Kerstin Müller—who had visited America twice before coming to Smith—was prepared for the adjustment of living in the United States at Smith College, where she’ll be receiving a Diploma in American Studies.

Coming to Smith from the University of Hamburg in Germany with a bachelor’s in political science, Kerstin first traveled the United States when she visited Missoula, Montana at sixteen years old. Although she had studied English in school for most of her lower education, school English was different than the English she heard around her in Missoula, so much so that at first she didn’t speak at all. Fortunately, her host mother—a German teacher—encouraged her. She told her to not worry about grammar or rules and to “just speak.”

It was during her second trip to America when she began to think and comprehend entirely in English. Kerstin said afterwards English came much easier to her and she began using it more freely. She encourages those studying abroad to follow her host mother’s advice to speak up and practice. Before both of these trips she did little to prepare for the culture of America; she firmly believed that experiencing culture first hand was the only way to learn it.

Kerstin also learned a lot about herself and built her independence as a person thanks to her experience. Looking back, she valued the time she spent abroad even more. She viewed the two trips an experience that led to her becoming independent and self-reliant; both attributes that are more important once you realize you have them. It was for these reasons that she wanted to come back to America. America was the first place she went to by herself and it’s a completely different experience than just studying abroad in Europe.

Overall, Kerstin views her experience at Smith a positive one.

This interview was conducted by Global STRIDE students Sarah Liggera ’17 and Kaitlin Scholand ’17.