What program did you participate in?
- In Winter and Spring 2026, I studied in Berlin through UCEAP, based at Humboldt University. I'm an Environmental Toxicology major at Davis, but I went as a philosophy major while in Berlin, so it was a completely different experience. It helped broaden my perspective on how I can apply my major.
- Learn more about the program here: https://uceap.universityofcalifornia.edu/programs/humboldt-university-berlin.
What was your favorite place you visited?
- My favorite museum was the "Extreme Tension" exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie, hands down. It showed the juxtaposition between East and West German post-war art styles, and what made it so good was how it walked through the history of those styles and how each one got used politically. I loved so many of the pieces that I ended up writing a paper on more than eight of them. My favorite was "On the Nameless Height" by Boris Nemenskij. If you get the chance, look it up, or better yet, go see it! It was formative.
What was your favorite trip you went on?
- Backpacking through the Bavarian and Austrian Alps. One of the amazing things about this program is that the Deutschland Ticket is included in your semester abroad. The ticket lets you take any local or regional train for free without booking in advance, which means I spent two weeks going across Germany with friends! It was incredibly easy, we could get on and off any train. And once in the Bavarian Alps, the mountain huts made it easy to do multi-day backpacking.
What is something you are proud of from your time abroad?
- I learned to sail! I took the Berlin Sailing course and spent a week on open water near Fehmarn (up by Denmark.) Not only did I get to steer, hoist the sails, learn docking procedures, and see the beautiful coast, I also learned how to do all of it in German!
Do you have any advice for other students?
- Take the leap of faith.
