Name: Sarah Vrtiska
Majors: Global Studies, German
Minors: Japanese, Asian Studies
Hometown: LaVista, Nebraska
Year at UNL: Senior
Favorite book and why:
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I think I love these books so much because they’re children books that seem to get better with age. Both meant a lot to me when I first read them, and they’ve continued to stick with me as I’ve grown older. There is a lot of truth in them, and they continue to remind me that things like love, hope, and kindness are the things to reach for.
Favorite movie and why:
In really love The Sound of Music because it’s got Julie Andrews in it and it always reminds me of home. Also it features Christopher Plummer ripping up a Nazi flag, so that’s great. Princess Diaries is also a favorite of mine though.
Why Global Studies?
Well after my first semester at UNL, I realized I didn’t actually want to be an English major. My friend suggested I check out Global Studies, and it was a perfect fit for me. I had always been interested in things like history, international relations, foreign languages, etc, and so being able to study all of those things in relation to each other was really appealing to me. I’ve really loved all of the classes I’ve taken through this program. I’ve always loved my language classes, so those are maybe my favorite. But besides those, History of Modern Japan with Parks Coble, History of the Holocaust taught by Tony Foreman, and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity with Regina Werum were probably some of my top classes.
So for new global studies majors and minors, I would say take a variety of classes! Also, I highly recommend taking at least one sociology class.
Education Abroad:
So my first experience was the six week faculty-led program to Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. That was an awesome time to improve my German, meet new people, and see a lot of German theater, and visit several notable historical sites.
However, I just returned from a semester long program through ISEP to Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata, Japan, which was also amazing! I spent a good majority of my time studying Japanese and taking a few additional culture classes such as Sexuality and Culture in Japan, which were very interesting. I spent a lot of my free time traveling to nearby cities and even took a weeklong trip to the Tokyo area. Right now, I’m most missing the people, the food, and the trains.
Post-Graduation Plans:
I don’t have any set plans, but I am applying to a lot of things. I applied to a grad program, to Fulbright ETA, to a job, and I’m also planning on applying for JET and potentially AEON, which are both teaching programs in Japan. So I don’t for sure have a plan yet, but I recently realized that I’m most interested in work dealing with foreign language/foreign language use and cultural exchange, so I am really leaning toward some kind of work with English language learners and International Students!