Student Memories
In 2009/2010 I completed a Masters-degree in History at UNO. During that time, I had the pleasure of working as a Botstiber fellow with Günter Bischof in his “Quiet Invaders” project. The time at Center Austria was an invaluable experience. I not only made many new friends but Günter also prepared me very well for my subsequent career in academia. Doris and I would like to thank Günter and Gertraud for that great experience and we congratulate Center Austria on its 20th anniversary. Best wishes from “down under” in Melbourne, Australia.
Philipp, Doris and Johanna Strobl
Working at Center Austria as a Center Austria fellow was a life changing experience for me. It allowed me to develop a set of global and professional skills, to network with global minds and to work with wonderful people like Günter and Gertraud, all while being immersed in the traditions, culture and cuisine of New Orleans. I am very grateful for this unforgettable and unique experience, which also led to my current career at the International Relations Office of the University of Innsbruck.
Congratulations to Günter, Gertraud and the Center Austria team on reaching this fantastic milestone of 20 years. Thank you for all your dedication, hard work and commitment. I wish you all the best for the next 20 years and beyond.
Sandra Scherl
I came to New Orleans in 2008 for a year-long exchange at UNO. I was a student of English and History and the Graduate Assistant at Center Austria. During my year, I had to evacuate because of Hurricane Gustav, I saw snow, and I witnessed the first African-American being elected as president.
Back in Innsbruck, I joined the board of the UNO-Austrian Alumni Association. In 2010, I got the opportunity to work as first student assistant at the newly established Center New Orleans. For three years, I worked with Center Austria, helping Innsbruck students organizing their stay at UNO. New Orleans is still with me. As Bob Dylan said: “there are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better.”
Christina Sturn
During my master’s program in Innsbruck, I had the chance to study the academic year 2008/2009 at the University of New Orleans as a Botstiber Fellow. Part of the Botstiber Foundation’s mission is the promotion of Austrian-American Studies, as well as funding Austrian engineering students to study at the UNO Engineering Department.
My academic curiosity and my thirst for knowledge remained constant. And there was my love for the USA. All the unforgettable impressions from my first year abroad in New Orleans were still in my mind and those motivated me tremendously to apply for the Marshall-Plan Fellowship in Vienna. With this fellowship I managed to get a Visiting Research Scholarship at the University of California at Berkeley for the 2016/2017 academic year.
Marcus Maier
In the middle of a humid August night three engineering students from South Tyrol arrived in New Orleans in 2000. We had no AC or electricity, but we were rescued the next day by Gertraud Grießner from Center Austria and by Prof. Marty Tittlebaum who took us under his wings. Without Marty Tittlebaum’s help we would have never finished our MA (Andrea) and our Phds (Armin and Reuben).
It has been 17 years since our time as UNO engineering students and we are successful in our careers and with our families. Andrea works for the Brenner Base tunnel which is a very important rail tunnel project in our area. Ruben lives in South Tyrol and owns an Architecture/Engineering company which operates in Austria and in Italy. Armin is in the management team for a Swiss engineering company and lives in Zurich with his wife and two sons. We won’t ever forget our time in the Big Easy!
Armin Gschnitzer, Andrea Lussu, Ruben Erlacher
Sometimes the best friendships are made in one Privateer Place Apartment #921! I can attribute almost all of my growth as an individual to a last minute apartment change when I moved to New Orleans. I never thought I would get the opportunities that I did, until I moved into 921. I’ve made friends from many different countries and learned much more about the world than I ever thought possible.
Jacob Wade
921 resident since Fall 2015
Imagine coming to New Orleans, new to the country, you know not one person in this great city and you find a place that for the next months or longer will provide you a safe haven, a place of refuge, a place for exuberant parties - that place materialized in 921.
Martin Schefzik
921 resident from Fall 2015 to Spring 2016