Former Dickinson-in-Bremen Vanderbilt Student Ben Wiggins ’24 talks about his internship experience in Bremen.
If you are also interested in doing an internship during your study-abroad time in Bremen, please contact us early on and we will support you with the process.
by Nina Grafton ’26
When studying abroad with the Dickinson in Bremen program, students are required to earn 15 to 18 hours of community service. While it can be challenging to balance this in addition to the other requirements of the program, it is important to serve the community you are living in for an extended period of time.
Starting in May, I volunteered weekly with the Bremer Suppenengel. The non-profit is a soup kitchen on wheels: after preparing the food, volunteers bike or drive to various distribution points around the city. The Suppenengel use donations from big grocery retailers and bakeries to make soup and sandwiches to distribute for free. Individuals in need can also take fresh fruit, vegetables, and other food items that aren’t used in the soup.
As a volunteer, my job was to make sandwiches using bread donated from local bakeries. While buttering bread and assembling cheese sandwiches isn’t the most exciting task, I was able to practice my German speaking and listening skills with the other kind volunteers. One of my favorite aspects of volunteering was seeing their familiar faces every Monday.
by Nina Grafton ’26
Thanks to a generous donation to our program, Crosby and I had the opportunity to travel to Berlin for a long weekend. Despite the very hot weather, we were able to see many of Berlin’s important buildings and museums. We did many of the “traditional” things to do when in Berlin, like visiting the East Side Gallery or the Brandenburger Tor. But we also visited places like the Schwules Museum and even climbed to the top of the Berliner Dom! Our trip was rich in history and culture, and we hope we can go back to explore Berlin again sometime in the future.
by Naomi Mathewson ’26
To complete my volunteer hours, I decided to work with the Klimawerkstatt in Neustadt, allowing me to effect change right in my neighborhood. I learned about the Klimawerkstatt through my class “Kultur- und klimapolitische Stadtteilarbeit” (roughly: “cultural and climate-political city cooperation”). In this class, we came up with creative artistic projects to benefit the local area, as well as the Lucie Garten- the garden across the street that has been built by the community to create more green space in the city. For my volunteer hours, I had the opportunity to do different kinds of volunteer activities. For example, I helped with a zine-making workshop and made my own zine. However, the majority of my hours were spent on Thursday evenings gardening in the Lucie Garden. A couple of my friends usually accompanied me, and it was a great bonding experience.
I would recommend visiting the events of the Klimawerkstatt and the Lucie Garten even if you aren’t volunteering! I loved going to the flea markets and other workshops!
Mid-June, Dickinson-in-Bremen Alumnus Liam Pauli ’19 came to visit us in Bremen. Together with our current Dickinson-in-Bremen students, we had a delicious dinner as well as “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake) with amazing cakes.
Our students and Liam shared their experiences and favorite moments and places in Bremen, and Liam also provided our students with valuable insights on how it feels returning home after a semester abroad, as well as on possibilities after graduation.
Thank you so much for visiting us, Liam, it was a pleasure to have you here and we are looking forward to your next visit!
It’s hard to believe, but unfortunately, our students’ time in Bremen is already over and it is time to say “goodbye”. We hope that you enjoyed your time here and wish you all the best for your future. And if you ever get homesick for Germany in the future, you are always welcome to visit us in Bremen!
Auf Wiedersehen und hoffentlich bis bald!
Our anniversary movie presents a beautiful bag of memories with pictures, videos and impressions from student adventures over the years. It was first screened during the Alumni reception at the program anniversary celebrations on June 2nd.
On Wednesday, President Jones and his wife Beth visited the Mercedes Plant in Bremen together with some of the current Dickinson-in-Bremen students.
Due to security measurements, we unfortunately weren’t able to take our phones inside of the plant to take any pictures or videos, but believe us, it was truly spectacular and mesmerizing.
In the evening, we concluded our anniversary celebrations with a wonderful dinner at Restaurant Ship Alexander von Humboldt with the current Dickinson-in-Germany students as well as many of our guests of honor.
from left to right: Beth Jones, President John E. Jones and current Dickinson-in-Germany student Delaney Bright ©Antonia Gabler
We would like to thank everyone who took part in our 40th Anniversary Program celebrations. We are so grateful for our Dickinson-in-Bremen community, friends and supporters all around the world.
Tuesday started with a visit of the University of Bremen Law Faculty, which recently moved into their new building Forum am Domshof in the city center. Two professors and former judge President Jones got a chance to have a chat about their specialties and the different legal systems of our two countries.
Afterwards, the newest Dickinson Chair on the University of Bremen campus was inaugurated. Exactly ten years after the unveiling of the first three “Dickinson Chairs” on campus, this is the first chair at the new Forum at Domshof campus. The “Dickinson Chairs” in Bremen symbolize the enduring partnership between the institutions.
In the afternoon, President Jones and his wife Beth were given an exclusive tour at the late medieval Town Hall, together with Consul General Jason Chue (Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg) and former College President Bill Durden and his wife Elke, among others
The exclusive tour was given by Dr. Annette Lang (Head of Division International Cooperation and Development Cooperation at the Senate Chancellery of Bremen and former head of the International Office at University of Bremen).
During the visit at the town hall, the group also had a special meeting with Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte who warmly expressed his personal dedication to the transatlantic partnership.
In the evening, the sixth Dickinson College Public Lecture took place at the Schütting, the16th-century house of the Chamber of Commerce at the market square of Bremen. Almost 100 people attended the festive event.
The evening began with greetings by Eduard Dubbers-Albrecht (Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce Bremen) and Ulf-Brün Drechsel (President of the Carl Schurz German-American Club), followed by welcome addresses delivered by Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther (Rector of the University of Bremen) and Jason Chue (Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg).
Then, Dr. Ludwig spoke with President Jones about the new US Administration. At the end of the insightful interview, the guests had the possibility to ask questions to President Jones, and many seized this opportunity.
The event was concluded with a reception during which students & alumni engaged in stimulating conversations with experienced transatlanticists & representatives and made many new contacts.
Dickinson College Public Lecture – an event organized by our program, in cooperation with the University of Bremen and its International Office, the Carl Schulz German-American Club, and the Amerikazentrum Hamburg, represented by Sarah Altmann.
Monday morning started with a short visit to the Dickinson Room on campus, before President Jones and his wife received a special tour through the Bremen Drop Tower, at Uni Bremen’s ZARM institute.
ZARM is an institute within the faculty of Production Engineering, and the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity. More than 100 scientists conduct cutting-edge research using experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches to explore fundamental scientific questions as well as to develop innovative technologies for space missions and microgravity experiments.
The ZARM Drop Tower enables short-term microgravity experiments. A capsule can be dropped and has a free fall in zero gravity. ZARM cooperates, among others, with NASA. This drop tower is unique in Europe.
After a joint lunch at Bellini, it was time to head to the SFG Building on the University Campus, where the Alumni Reception took place.
We welcomed more than 70 people in total: 55 to 60 alumni from Dickinson and the University of Bremen, current Dickinson-in-Germany students, current and former Bremen partners and program officials as well as friends of the program attend the event in person. Several former Dickinson-in-Bremen students traveled to Bremen for the celebrations from other parts of Germany, where they now live; one flew in from the United States.
An additional 22 people joined us virtually from around the world and did not let the, in some cases, very early times due to time differences dissuade them from celebrating with us.
We also welcomed many guests of honor: Prof. Jürgen Timm and his wife, former rector of the university, Klaus Wedemeier, former mayor of Bremen, Bill Durden and his wife Elke, former president of Dickinson, and the current president John E. Jones and his wife Beth. Besides, former program directors and coordinators, many teachers of Uni Bremen and from Dickinson’s German Departments, and people involved in the International Office or the Rectorate who have supported the program.
The celebrations started with five short welcome speeches by current and former directors and college/university presidents.
Afterwards, we (re)connected and engaged in conversation with alumni who are “live” in Bremen and alumni who joined us virtually. Alumni shared anecdotes and their favorite moments of their time in Bremen or at Dickinson, and we cherished the special moments and life-long connections that were formed during this formative period.
The range of alumni attending the event covered the entire program history, with both the very first student participating in the exchange in 1985 and our current Dickinson-in-Bremen students, as well as the University of Bremen students that have just returned days ago from their exchange year at Dickinson, being present.
Afterwards, we held our coffee and cake reception outside in the backyard, while we started the virtual screening of our anniversary movie inside and for our guests in the zoom. The approximately 30min long movie presented a beautiful bag of memories with pictures, videos and impressions from student adventures over the years.
After around three hours we ended our very successful first day of the program anniversary celebrations.