UI international relations and German major Madeline Kaiser, a native of Orono, MN, and alumna of Academic Year in Freiburg was awarded a United States Teaching Assistantship at Austrian Secondary Schools and will be headed to Vienna this fall to teach. 

"I have a passion for learning and being a mentor. For much of my life, I have studied and explored German-speaking countries; living and working in Austria has always been an aspiration of mine," said Kaiser. “Nothing could have prepared me better for this new challenge than my valuable time studying abroad in Germany with the Academic Year in Freiburg, a University of Iowa program. Any Iowa undergrad who wants to really work towards fluency in German should look into going to Freiburg!” 

Since 1963, the U.S. Teaching Assistantships at Austrian Secondary Schools program, which is administered by the Austrian-American Educational Commission (Fulbright Commission), has provided college and university graduates the chance to work as teaching assistants in secondary schools across Austria.

The U.S. Teaching Assistantships at Austrian Secondary Schools provides college graduates from the United States with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to work as secondary school teaching assistants in communities all over Austria. U.S. teaching assistants are also valuable resources for first-hand information about the "American way of life" and informal representatives of the United

States. In this capacity, they contribute substantially to the promotion of mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States of America and the Republic of Austria.

"I hope my experience in Austria affords me new teaching skills, a further understanding of Austria politics and culture, as well as the opportunity to be a future ambassador of Austrian culture in the United States," said Kaiser.

For students interesting in pursuing similar funding opportunities, Kaiser offers this advice:

"Don’t be discouraged by the amount of work or the chances of not being accepted into a grant program. Keep working! Look for other programs much like the ones you may be already applying for. Apply for as many as you can, each application is easier to write than the last."

Students are encouraged to begin their funding searches and applications at least six months to one year in advance. Learn more about available awards, grants, fellowships, and scholarships here. 

For more information on the Academic Year in Freiburg go here.