UConn graduates earning careers overseas

By: Kelsey Bongiovanni

Posted: 11/17/08

Globalization has made the world seem like a smaller place - and students are taking the opportunity to cross borders and work overseas. Many recent UConn graduates are currently working abroad, and as seniors start making plans for life after college, working abroad is a viable option.

However, the decision to work abroad is not one made overnight. Most of the UConn graduates living overseas took part in intensive programs at UConn that prepared them for possible careers abroad. One such program is Eurotech, a five-year program that results in degrees in both German and engineering.

The Eurotech program also offers a six-month internship in Germany that allows students to immerse themselves in German culture. This internship makes the full-time transition to living abroad a bit easier for students.

"Adjusting to the different culture was never very difficult, because I was in Germany four times for a total of about a year during my undergraduate years due to various programs and opportunities offered by Eurotech," said Matthew Pearson, who graduated from UConn in December 2007 and is currently working in Germany.

Experiencing a different culture is a driving force behind most students' decisions to work abroad. Lindsay Skalak, a 5th-semester French major, has already decided that she wants to move to France to work when graduates.

"After graduation, I plan to work abroad simply because I can," Skalak said. "I love the French language and culture, and I love being able to explore other cultures. I don't necessarily plan on living abroad forever, but at least while I'm young and have the time and energy to travel, I'd like to be somewhere more accessible to the rest of the world than the U.S."

Daniel Neilan, a recent graduate of the Eurotech program who is currently working in Germany, also left for Europe to experience things he could not while in the United States.

Neilan said that he left for Germany "to escape an increasingly dull and monotone life that was becoming plagued with American television and stability."

"I just felt that I was starting to fall into an all-too-normal daily routine with nothing interesting and exciting to look forward to," Neilan added.

Most graduates who are currently working abroad feel that they have changed dramatically since leaving UConn. Although most do not plan on staying overseas forever, many have no intentions of coming back just yet.

"Through the eyes of this foreign culture I have changed tremendously, and I did not want to stop my personal growth," said Pawel Herman, a recent UConn graduate who is currently working and living in Germany.