Every spring the Department of German sponsors a banquet to honor its highest achieving students.
Generous gifts from alumni and supporters around the country allow department faculty to nominate students in various categories.
On Monday evening, April 26, ten graduating seniors will be inducted intoDelta Phi Alpha, the National German Honorary Society, which recognizes consistently high grades during their studies at the UW.
Gifts from the Austrian and Swiss Consulates in Chicago as well as the Goethe Institute Chicago recognize these students' achievements:
- Caitlin Carlson
- Rachel Egger
- Alicia Groh
- Natallia Janechek
- Alan Jurgens
- Elizabeth Karn
- Ginger Kern
- Sara Koth
- Sean Seyler
- Kathleen Thomas
In addition, the department awards writing prizes to three undergraduates in its intermediate and advanced German-language courses; winners of the cash prizes this year are Jessica Kazmierczak, Eric Minkley and Carla Oppenheimer.
To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., provided special funding for an essay contest; the following students received prizes: Andrew Chen, Kathi Gadow, Ben Schuh, Kelsey Sorenson, Kristen Westenfield.
The department's two most prestigious undergraduate prizes are the Berghahn Essay Prize ($500), won by Anna Spafford, and the Pisk Prize ($2,500) won by Natallia Janechek.
Four intermediate level undergraduates have been chosen for summer study fellowships ($2,500 each) at the University of Bonn: Kaitlin Johnston, Kyla Koehler, Laurel Mills and Sarah Robbins.
The department also awards two graduate prizes at the honors banquet, including the Seifert Prizes for papers in Germanic Linguistics (Elliott Gougeon, and co-authors Ryan Carroll and Charlie Webster) and the Berghahn Prize in Literature (Frieda Fichtner).
Finally, Katie Chapman, who was chosen as an L&S Teaching Fellow, will be recognized.