Name: Nicholas Niendorf
Majors: Global Studies and French
Minors: Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, Political Science, Business
Hometown: Frankfort, Illinois
Year at UNL: Junior
Favorite book and why: "When the Game Was Ours" by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Jackie MacMullan. This was the first book I ever read about the history of the NBA and it helped spark my passion for all things basketball.
Favorite movie and why: I'm somebody who loves getting absolutely destroyed emotionally when I watch movies so I'm going to have to go with "Blue Valentine." It's probably the greatest movie I've ever seen that I would probably never recommend to anybody else.
Why Global Studies: I chose Global Studies because it let me to tailor my education precisely in the direction I wanted it to go. I've been able to take such a wide variety of history, political science, and ethnicity classes because of the flexibility the major has allowed me. This year I'm taking a class on Israel and the Middle East, and it is far away the most interesting subject material I've had the opportunity to explore. My biggest suggestion for incoming Global Studies majors is to keep your mind open throughout your time here and never be afraid to study things within the major that you know nothing about. You'd be surprised what you end up having a passion for.
Study Abroad: This past summer I spent four weeks in Yangling, China at a university attending a wide range of seminars, classes, and culture courses, as well as taking a course on cross-cultural leadership. I'd honestly never thought about studying abroad in China, and I made my decision to go about a month and a half before hand. It ended up being one of the best last-minute decisions I ever made. While abroad I had the opportunity to see a lot of different sights around the country, including the Terracotta Army, the Great Wall, Mt. Huashan, and other national parks. I also had the chance to get to know many of the students on campus who showed me around Yangling. I encourage everybody in college to at least make an attempt to study abroad. Even if its just filling out a few applications on a whim, you'd be surprised how much of a difference one or two scholarships can make in your decision to go.
What are you post-graduation plans: I am currently looking into graduate schools across the country and I am hoping to study public administration in fall of 2019.