Jaclyn Hovsmith ’20

Since graduation, I’ve been working at FedTech, a “venture builder that thrives at the intersection of US entrepreneurship, breakthrough technologies, and mission-driven organizations.” Essentially, we work with various entities (the DoD, NASA, DoE, universities, federal labs, and others) to drive innovation between the public and private sectors. 

 In undergrad, I was fortunate enough to participate in the German department’s Summer Work Program twice – one summer working at Flowletics, a tech startup in Berlin, and one summer working at PwC Deutschland in their Digispace. Academically, the German department allowed me to explore my eclectic interests, from courses on media theory and medieval German literature (shout out to Professor Poor!) to my junior independent work on the politics of blockchain with Professor Levin, to my senior thesis on Christa Wolf’s Kassandra, advised by Professor Nagel.

 These varied explorations and experiences, made possible by the German department’s emphasis on undergraduate independence, have instilled in me a passion for intersections, which I hope to explore next year by (hopefully) beginning a M.Sc. in Technology and Politics at the Technical University of Munich (which is what I have applied to the Fulbright grant for). After that, I plan to gain more practical experience before ultimately pursuing a law degree