My favorite part of this program was having the time to travel during my free time. I had a fairly open schedule, so there was plenty of time to see other parts of Germany and Europe.

My favorite part about WHU was how small of a town and school setting it was in. At KU, there are so many students and people who live in Lawrence, but in Vallendar everybody knew one another.

I liked getting to know other exchange students and WHU students. I got to know people not only from Germany, but from all over the world, and learn about their cultures. It is pretty unique to say you have friends from multiple continents.

I loved traveling on the weekends. School schedules are pretty flexible at WHU with most classes only meeting once a week, so it was easy to plan trips around class.

Before traveling, I hoped to develop new international relationships and learn things through a new mindset and perspective. I believe my program met my goals very well. Classes with group work were structured to provide a mix of German and exchange students, which taught me a lot. Spending time studying and traveling with people from all over the world expands the way you think about business, and the world itself. I also had the opportunity to travel almost every weekend and seeing so much of Germany and Europe gave me the confidence to travel alone in the future and the experience to navigate through new cultures.

I would urge future WHU students to take a German language course and meet as many local and international students as possible. The German courses are free and help you communicate with the locals and learn more about the history and traditions of your home for the next four months. While it may seem like more work, it was one of the most rewarding parts of my experience.