By Chris Bavender
Fishers resident Nate Greiwe is preparing for his third trip to Germany, where formerly attended college there. This time, he’s teaching through a Fulbright assistantship.
A2014 Fishers High School grad, Greiwe will work in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz in western Germany at a “realschule” – one of Germany’s three types of high schools – in a small town near Koblenz called Mülheim-Kärlich.
“I’ll be working with an English teacher there, assisting in her English classes. I chose to apply to go to Germany for my Fulbright because I went to college to become a high school German teacher,” Greiwe said. “I’ve been learning German for 10 years, ever since eighth grade, so it made sense to try to go back there again and continue learning more about the country I’ve spent so much time studying.”
Greiwe, 24, and his wife, Kathleen, leave Sept. 3 and will be in Germany through the end of June 2020.
“One of my biggest hopes for my time this coming school year in Germany is that I will be able to use the experiences I’ll have and the connections I’ll make to help me enrich my future high school German classrooms here in the U.S.,” he said. “The ethos of the Fulbright programs is all about fostering cross-cultural understanding between the U.S. and other countries, and I’m excited about the chance to play a part in that goal, both this coming year in Germany and in the future as a German teacher here in the U.S.”
A 2018 Valparaiso University graduate, Greiwe already has a good understanding of the Fulbright program. He and his wife recently returned from Puebla, Mexico (the nation’s third-largest city with a population of 3 million), where Kathleen taught through her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
“We were both surprised by how safe the city felt, and there were many times where we were almost taken aback by the friendliness and openness of people we met there,” Greiwe said. “The main thing I did while we were there was learn Spanish. I took an 18-week Spanish immersion class that was absolutely fantastic. Kathleen enjoyed learning more about the school system in Mexico as well as refining some of her educational interests.
“Both of us also are glad for how moving to a new country together after only two months of marriage allowed us to learn to rely on each other.”
