Bios and Agencies

Name: Teresa Knebel

Home Country: Germany

Occupation: Social Worker

"I wanted to join to gain intercultural experiences to help understand how the social welfare system in the U.S. is working, and have the opportunity to do exchanges with the professionals here to learn the differences and similarities between our two countries systems."

"I've been in this job for 6 years and I understood the German welfare system, but I thought there would be differences in other countries and wanted to understand why they do it how they do, and not like in Germany. All my colleagues are waiting and excited to hear what I have learned, so it won't only be me who will get the chance to understand this system."

"Eventually I would love to work abroad, potentially in the U.S."

Name: Gabriela Simioni Prants

Home Country: Brazil

Occupation: Agronomist

“I always wanted to go abroad for my schooling, but it was hard to get the opportunity. So when I learned about the program I was so excited and I put all my energy into getting accepted. I am currently pursuing my Masters degree in Brazil, and this program is giving me an opportunity to match my work here and improve my skills."

"I am an agronomist in Brazil, and I work with the genetics of tomatoes, specifically their trichomes. Here I will be doing my research on the tomato plants IV trichome and learning new techniques with molecular biology. The IV trichome helps repel insects, so my goal is to uncover the mysteries of developing that trichome so we can create a plant this is resistant against bug attacks.”