By On Aug. 31, Cal State Long Beach junior Yanalte De Haro will live out her dream: She will leave to study abroad in Germany, fully funded, for a year.
De Haro was awarded a scholarshipfrom the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She first heard about the scholarship from her high school German teacher, and said she never thought she would get it. Her German adviser at CSULB, Nele Hempel-Lamer, recommended she apply.
“I’m so grateful to her for helping me so much with my application,” De Haro said. “I’m glad she encouraged me to apply.”
The DAAD scholarship provides De Haro with 650 Euros a month for living expenses, a plane ticket, health insurance and a start-up sum upon her arrival to cover necessities. De Haro is going through the CSULB direct exchange program and, thus, her tuition is covered by financial aid.
De Haro will divide her time in Germany between two different schools.
During the first semester, she will study German at the University of Tübingen. During her second semester, she will transfer to the Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart to study her other major — studio art.
She began learning German in high school because she already knew Spanish and had always wanted to travel. She went to Germany for three weeks with a high school group in the spring of 2008.
“It was an awesome experience and I loved it,” De Haro said.
In preparation for her year in Germany, De Haro finished a month-long immersion program in New Mexico. In addition to improving her German, De Haro hopes the trip to Germany will inspire her own artwork.
“I wanted to study in Germany because of the art culture there and my favorite artist, Franz Marc, was German,” De Haro said. “I could stare at [his work] for a long time. It’s gorgeous.”
Growing up, De Haro said she was always “the art student.” In fall 2010, she took a metal class, which led to metal as the selection for her studio art major. De Haro, who grew up making her own jewelry, said the choice was a good fit.
De Haro plans to return sometime in August.
“I’d like to travel all over Germany,” De Haro said. “So far, I’ve only been to the southern part.”
One particular attraction caught De Haro’s attention.
“They have actual chocolate museums in Germany,” she said. “I’d love to visit all of them.”
De Haro said being apart from her friends, family and boyfriend will be the hardest part of her trip. However, De Haro said she hopes the experience will change her for the better.
“I’m hoping to come back more confident in my German speaking abilities, but I’m also hoping that the experience will make me more outgoing and less shy,” she said.
“I hope that when I come back and take my first class, I’ll actually raise my hand.”
After graduation in 2013, De Haro plans to either join AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps.
“I love traveling,” De Haro said. “And that way, I could volunteer and travel at the same time. After that, I’m not quite sure.”
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