Past Student Assistants
After graduating from Brandeis in 2007, Kai moved to New York and has been working as an international equity trader for several different investment banks. Since July, he is at Daiwa Securities where he is focused on Asia. Following a two-year post-Brandeis time out, he is now fencing competitively again, representing the New York Athletic Club and is hoping to establish himself among the top-ranked national fencers this year. He is getting married to his fiancee, Sophie, next summer in New York.
Larissa Liebmann graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law in May 2013, and is now living in Washington, D.C. with her two rescue cats. She is working as a legal fellow at Potomac Riverkeeper on Clean Water Act enforcement.
After graduating from Brandeis with a master’s degree in finance and economics, Tim settled in with TripAdvisor in Newton. There he manages the search marketing accounts for the U.S. and Canada. Tim recently bought a little house in Roxbury and spends his free time making it a nice home and enjoying life.
Killian has been busy starting a new job as a technical support specialist for Netsuite. Currently, he lives in Brno, Czech Republic, due to the location of this job. Otherwise, Kilian has been busy with various projects, personal and professional. Most prominent amongst them, he has (finally) managed to self-publish a first book. It is very thin — only 90 pages of short stories — but a good first step that has given him the courage to aim for a second book by the end of this year. You can find the book on Amazon.
Julia was born and raised in Weimar, Germany. She obtained her bachelor’s in international business and management in Germany and France. Afterwards, she was selected as a Fulbright scholar and received her master’s in sustainable international development at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
Darryl is a native Korean who moved to America early in his life, and presently resides in New Jersey. He started his German studies in his sophomore year and spent a semester and summer abroad in Freiburg, Germany during his junior year. He completed his undergraduate degrees in May 2012, with majors in economics and German studies.
Benni was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. After moving to the United States in 2008, he graduated from Lexington High School in 2009. He started his studies at UMass Boston and transferred to Brandeis University after completing his freshman year. He completed his undergraduate degree in May 2012 with a major in economics and minors in philosophy and math.
Sarah Klapisch was born in the United States, but moved to Zurich, Switzerland in 2003. She studied abroad in Vienna, Austria and spent considerable time with her family in Essen, Germany. While at Brandeis University, she majored in psychology.
Jonathan Jecker moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area after graduation and began working in the tech world. Jon is currently an associate product manager at Endicia, an e-commerce solutions company. In his free time, Jonathan has been traveling around Northern California and reconnecting with childhood friends. He misses his CGES crew a great deal.
At the end of August after two months of training, Ingrid officially began her service with the Peace Corps in Swaziland, Africa where she will be working as a community health volunteer for the next two years. In collaboration with local community members, she will address issues, including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and financial.
Arina was born and raised in Heidelberg in the south of Germany. She is a German citizen with Lao refugee migration background. Arina holds a bachelor of arts, double majoring in history and social anthropology from the University of Heidelberg and spent a semester abroad in Israel studying in the Honors Program in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Haifa. Arina most recently worked as a development aide fellow at the Highland Research and Development Institute and the German International Cooperation GIZ in Thailand. As a fellow, she worked on various projects promoting biodiversity and indigenous knowledge, and planning capacity-building training workshops on integrating ecosystem services into development planning in the ASEAN region. Moreover, she gained policy experience in Washington, D.C. and at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany. Arina is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Sustainable International Development at Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
Tara was born and raised in the United States, but has been studying German for ten years, and is completing her bachelor’s in German studies and psychology. Since her sophomore year at Brandeis, she has been an undergraduate departmental representative for the German department, except for Spring 2013 when she was abroad in Berlin, Germany. After graduation in May 2014, Tara plans on moving back to Berlin.
Leonie Koch of the class of 2016 was born in Awali, Bahrain to an Irish mother and a German father. From the age of ten months, she grew up in Switzerland, at first in Geneva and then later in Zurich, finishing high school and receiving her International Baccalaureate diploma there. She plans to double major in politics and international and global studies, with a minor in legal studies, and later obtain a graduate degree in international law.
Nelly was born in Hamburg, Germany but lived near Köln, Germany until 2001, when her family moved to Geneva, Switzerland. She majored in anthropology and international and global studies at Brandeis University, and worked as the German tutor for the Brandeis Undergraduate Group Study program on campus.
Elise was born and raised in the United States. However, her family's German heritage inspired her to learn German, which she has now been studying for over 10 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Art in German Studies and plans to go into the health field. She is interested in eventually either working or living in Germany. In addition, she was an undergraduate representative of the German studies program since her sophomore year and studied abroad in Dresden.
Erin Robinson was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a Master of Public Policy student at The Heller School. Erin has a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs and Modern Languages (German). She first visited Germany via an exchange program in high school. She also studied abroad there during her undergraduate experience. During the 2013-2014 academic year she worked as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Ludwigshafen, Germany. In her free time Erin enjoys learning new languages, reading novels and watching political dramas.
Tamar was born near Stuttgart, Germany, but grew up in Berlin where she attended a German-American school. At Brandeis, she majored in linguistics and computer science and completed a minor in French and Francophone studies. Tamar is passionate about music, learning new languages and traveling. She loves baking and cooking, and considers food the best mediator among cultures while having a personal preference for French patisserie and all things butter.
Tamar was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland. She majored in sociology and Islamic and Middle Eastern studies with a peace, conflict and coexistence studies minor. She started working at CGES her sophomore year.
Jonathan majored in business, economics and international and global studies at Brandeis. He is passionate about the German language and European politics, which he spent a semester studying in Freiburg, in Baden-Württemberg. Jonathan hopes to return to Germany for graduate studies and will eventually pursue an education in international and comparative law.
Eve is a first generation American-born, in a family of Soviet immigrants. Having questioned and explored her identity throughout her undergraduate study at Brandeis, when she majored in Russian, European culture and international and global studies, and minored in Italian law and Near Eastern and Judaic studies, she was excited for the next academic adventure: pursuing a master’s of comparative humanities. When she’s not scrambling to complete her graduate work, you can find her at a local cultural event or seeking out a travel opportunity.
Benyamin was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts but frequently visits his grandparents in Hannover, Germany. He spent his seventh grade year in Hannover and had his bar mitzvah with the Jewish Congregation of Hameln. Benyamin majored in neuroscience at Brandeis.
Helena was born near Vienna, Austria but grew up in Salzburg, Austria where her parents were working. In 2008, her family moved to northern New Jersey where she attended and graduated high school. She double-majored in politics, and international and global studies. She enjoys traveling, trying new foods and relaxing with friends and family.
Emma grew up in a small suburb of South Jersey, but recently moved to New York City. She began learning German in seventh grade and has continued ever since. She double-majored in history and anthropology, with a minor in German studies. Outside of academics, you can probably find her dancing with Adagio Dance Company or exploring Boston in search of cool new foods to try.
Being born into a German family and living most of his life in Germany and South Africa, Hauke has been stricken by the “wanderlust.” As a student in the dual degree graduate program in the Heller School he studied conflict resolution and coexistence/Near Eastern and Judaic studies with a focus on the arts as a tool for social change. When he is not practicing with the Bad Grammer Improv Comedy Group, he is cooking or exploring the urban jungle around him.
Priyanka was born and raised in Delhi, India. At Brandeis, she was a computer science graduate student. For Priyanka, the future is when innovation finds the right technology, and technology finds the right craftsman for weaving that future. It is the craftsman in her that brought her to Brandeis. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in statistics from University of Delhi and around three years of working as an analyst and project consultant in India. She came here to deep-dive into the world of technology. Given her passion for German, she has been learning the language professionally, along with her jobs in India and at school.
Antonia was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany where she participated in a dual study program. She received her Bachelor in Shipping and Ship Finance, as well as an apprenticeship in a shipping company where she was employed as operations manager and technical controller. In 2016, she decided to pursue her MBA at Brandeis International Business School. Antonia has a passion for sports (especially basketball), and water (especially large ships).
Julia was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She began studying German in high school and participated in an exchange program in Tübingen that solidified her interests in German language and culture. Julia majored in German studies and IGS and spent a semester abroad in Berlin. When she’s not studying or daydreaming about moving back to Berlin, Julia enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring Boston.
Benedikt moved from Germany to the U.S. with his family when he was 13. At Brandeis, he studied both computer science and anthropology at Brandeis, and served as the student body vice president. He spends his extra time listening to music and hanging with friends.
Theresa was born in Massachusetts, but since both of her parents are from Vienna, Austria, she learned German at a young age. All of her family still lives in Austria so she visits frequently. At Brandeis, Theresa studies chemistry and biology on the pre-med track. She is also an undergraduate researcher in the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, a coordinator and E-board member in the Waltham Group, and a tour guide.
Carina Smith is a Southern California native. She attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree, completing a bachelor’s in Political Economy with a minor in German in 2016. After graduating, she became a Research Assistant with Live & Learn, Inc. As a Research Assistant she developed her interests in improving access to healthcare services, assisting on a variety of projects including the Guidebook for Peer Respite Self-Evaluation: Practical Steps and Tools and Reclaiming Employment. Carina is a travel enthusiast, taking any opportunity to explore a new country. She is also an avid hiker and regularly trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Although he was born in New York, Alexander grew up in the Swabian city of Geislingen an der Steige in Germany. He earned his Abitur in 2017 and studied economics and philosophy, with a minor in East Asian studies at Brandeis University. His academic interests are macroeconomics and Kantian ethics. A former German national team champion, Alex fenced for the Brandeis Varsity Fencing Team. In his free time he enjoys reading books, discussing international politics and cooking food.
Paul Jiang ’21 was born and grew up in the city of Berlin, Germany. He and his parents moved to China when he was 14, where he attended a normal public high school near Suzhou. In 2015, he started studying at United World College Changshu, China and finished his IB diploma in 2017. In fall of the same year, he started his undergraduate studies at Brandeis University. He double majored in Biochemistry and Neuroscience, and was on the pre-med track. Outside of class, he loves meeting new people, making friends and having interesting conversations. He is an outdoor enthusiast and has a big love for traveling.
Yannik was born in the northeast of Germany in Crivitz am See, but grew up in the British Virgin Islands. At 14, Yannik moved to boarding school at New Hampton School, situated in New Hampshire, where he became the senior class president of the Class of 2018. He graduated in 2018 and received his IB diploma in the summer of that year. He began to attend Brandeis University in the fall of 2018, and is planning to major in biology and do the pre-med track. Outside of class he enjoys traveling and playing sports, especially soccer and tennis.
Michelle Heeman attended her undergraduate studies at The College at Brockport, SUNY, where she earned a bachelor’s in anthropology and history with a minor in museum studies and public history in 2018. It was at SUNY Brockport that she developed her current research interests in cultural hybridity on the periphery of the Graeco-Roman world, ancient imperialism and conflict heritage and antiquities trafficking. As a master’s student in the Brandeis Department of Classical Studies, she has taken German language courses alongside her regular studies, and it is both a personal and a career goal of Michelle's to achieve fluency in German in the future.
Hannah Bair graduated from Charlottesville High School in 2020, and is a sophomore at Brandeis University. Her academic and career interests include international relations, globalization and development, and immigration. After spending half her time growing up in Berlin, she is bilingual in German and English; however, Hannah loves learning new languages and is currently learning French and Chinese.