Travel Diary

It’s my fifth semester studying industrial engineering at Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University. I’m normally splitting my time going to class and working at VEGA Schiltach, alternating locations every three months. Recently, I got the chance to work at VEGA Americas in Cincinnati. As a part of my studies and my apprenticeship with VEGA, I had the opportunity to join an international VEGA subsidiary. Luckily, I was able to get this experience in the United States. I was excited to start this journey and to live in the States for seven weeks.

I have been with VEGA for 2 ½ years, and I’ll complete my studies this year. In the time I’ve spent at VEGA Schiltach, I’ve gotten insight into nearly every department. I have spent time in several manufacturing departments, getting to know the products, the processes, and of course, the colleagues working there. I was also able to work in administrative departments like human resources and marketing. And I worked in the technical departments like research and development and inside sales. I am looking forward to being an inside sales technician for the east Austria territory beginning in October.

At VEGA Americas, I worked on a project for the product management department, focusing on the ultrasonic market in the United States. This project was primarily desktop research, but we also made some customer visits to get insight into the field. I also supported the marketing department in their daily work. It was great to do everything in a foreign language and see the differences and similarities of VEGA in Germany and the United States.

I used this my opportunity abroad to travel to some great spots in Cincinnati and the surrounding area despite the cold winter weather. At one time, temperatures were about 0°F and then four days later, temperatures jumped to 66°F. The Ohio weather offered lots of surprises.

I spent two weekends in Cincinnati to explore downtown, the nightlife, and life at the University of Cincinnati. I also spent a weekend in Indianapolis where I visited the Indy 500 track and attended an NBA basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Dallas Mavericks . It was amazing to see one of the last games of the most famous German basketball player, Dirk Nowitzki. On another weekend trip, I went to Niagara Falls and stayed one night in Buffalo. The Canadian falls were especially impressive and memorable. You can feel the strength of the water. My fifth weekend in the United States was spent traveling with two VEGA colleagues to Chicago, a beautiful city with a lot of things to do. A highlight was visiting the 1030 ft high 360° viewpoint of the Hancock tower. I spent my sixth weekend visiting the Music City – Nashville. I was happy four colleagues and one former colleague from VEGA joined me. It was a fun weekend with a lot of live music in awesome bars. The entire group went to Lower Broadway and visited multiple bars. I also got a new feeling for modern country music.

After my time at VEGA Americas, I made one last stop in New York City for four additional days before my flight back home. A colleague from Germany flew to New York to spend time in the Big Apple with me. Although we stayed there in February, the weather was warm and dry, so we didn’t have to freeze. We used the time to visit the famous sights of Manhattan, like the 9/11 Monument and Museum, the Top of the Rocks at the Rockefeller Center, the beautiful Statue of Liberty, and the National Museum of Natural History. In this huge city, there is always something to do or see to keep you busy.

I had a lot of expectations ahead of my stay abroad. I wanted to improve my English, get to know new colleagues of the VEGA world, see how other subsidiaries work, and explore as much of the country as possible. I loved working at VEGA Americas and traveling the country. The atmosphere was similar to Schiltach, so it was easy to adjust within the VEGA family. After seven amazing weeks, my time in the USA ended, but I got lots of positive and memorable experiences, which exceeded my expectations.

I hope to come back soon, Cincinnati!