College's German Exchange Program Marks Sixth Season

St. Scholastica President Larry Goodwin with Dr. Volkmar Proft
and Dorothea Diver, associate professor of German.

In April Dr. Larry Goodwin signed a renewal agreement celebrating St. Scholastica's exchange program with the University of Leipzig, Germany.

The six-year-old program matches health science students and faculty with their counterparts in Germany.

Last month three German health science students and Dr. Volkmar Proft, the assistant director of the Leipzig Medical Training Institute, spent two weeks at St. Scholastica, exploring Duluth health science facilities and immersing themselves in American college life.

The visiting group watched a Caesarian birth and a knee operation, and toured the College's labs, including the cadaver lab. The group also drove ATVs in the mud, bowled, visited Duluth's tourist attractions and hung out with St. Scholastica roommates.

"Many people touched the lives of our guests," said Dorothea Diver, associate professor of German at St. Scholastica and a founder of the program.

Goodwin said the exchange is a good example of one of the College's priorities. "This program fits well within our emphasis on increasing cultural diversity," he noted. "We are reaching out not only within American culture, but internationally."

Proft noted that over 50 participants "have gone across the ocean in both directions. This is not only to improve our knowledge of languages, but to gain knowledge of each institution's health training programs. We are sure that your training is much better than ours, more modern. It is our task right now in Germany to reform our program, and so we will see when I get back home what I can bring to our system to better it and to reform it."

And there's an even more important benefit, he said.

"The best thing to make friends is not only to send e-mails across the ocean, but sit together, talk together. See how people live on the 'other side'. This may be the most important point in our program, maintaining friendship between both of our nations."

Normally, the Leipzig group comes in October and the St. Scholastica group visits Germany in May. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks delayed the Germans traveling to this country until April. St. Scholastica's delegation planned to leave for Germany in mid-May.

Dorit Schulz, a German physical therapy student, said at the end of her visit in April that it was beneficial to her on several levels.

"I learned very much here. I visited some courses in the McKenzie (physical therapy) technique, and went with St. Scholastica faculty to hospitals. We shared information and they asked me questions when doing treatment.

"It has also been good for making new friendships, and for strengthening my skills in speaking English.

"I learned some stuff for studying, but I learned a lot for my life."