Over 100 students from the University of St. Thomas as well as students from German programs of Central, Eastview and Apple Valley High Schools attended the German-American Career Fair on Oct. 13 in James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall. The highly interactive event gave students the opportunity to network and hear presentations form multinational companies and nonprofits.
“My highlight during my time at the German Career Fair was networking with the employers,” said Carolyn Mueller ’23, an international business and Spanish major. “Every single one I spoke with had a lot of energy and passion for their company and the students. I could feel their genuine desire to speak with us, hear about our interests and encouragement to apply for their internships and jobs.”
Representative companies attending the fair included ALDI, Beckhoff Automation, Heraeus, Horton, Pepperl+Fuchs, SICK Sensor Intelligence and Syntegon.
“I had some great conversations with confident and talented students who share my passion for the German language and culture,” said Thomas Mauritzen ’04, vice president of customer service at Syntegon. “It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with a focused group of students that represent our future workforce.”
Claire Tranel ’26, a mechanical engineering and German double major, said, “The highlight for me was networking with each of the booths. I have been excited for my future career but hearing firsthand accounts from people in the workforce who took similar educational routes was inspiring. It gave me even more motivation to do well in college so I can have similar opportunities,” she added.
This event was part of 2022 Germany on Campus sponsored by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, D.C., and St. Thomas, with additional sponsor American Association of Teachers of German (AATG).
Professor Susanne Wagner coordinated the event, which helps students in the International Engineering Program (IEP) and those interested in a global career find jobs and internships and demonstrates the importance of language and culture skills for the local and global workforce.
