Meet Lukas

Meet Lukas!

Who are you?
I am Lukas, 24 years old and a 4th year Governance student

Why did you choose LAS at UCF?
I chose Liberal Arts and Sciences because of the strong support system, community feeling and because it gave me the liberty to learn about and specialize in topics that I am interested in.

Why did you choose your Major?
During my time in high school I developed a grounded interest in social, political and societal issues. I, hence, had a clear tendency towards Governance since the first semester.

Did you study abroad?
Yes, I spend a year at Bogazici University in Istanbul (Turkey)

When you started LAS, what did you find challenging and/or unexpected?
For me one challenging aspect of LAS was the individual responsibility that came with the flexibility of the program. With every semester LAS students are required to take meaningful decision on their curriculum and hence have to reflect their interest and future plans. With every course choice or essay topic, you have the chance but also the challenge to develop your very own curriculum.

What is the strongest point of the LAS program?
The familiarity of the LAS community, but also the good and close relationship between students and instructors, that was personally essential for me to finding my personal, academic and professional path.

What are typical misconceptions of LAS?
I think a typical misconception is that LAS is too general and that students basically "study everything". Actually, the LAS program can become quite narrow and specialized after the first year if you decide to settle for a very specific topic.

Are you part of a committee?
Yes, I was acting and directing with the Arts Liberated drama club, but I have also contributed to the Jack committee and the Ecoalas committee

What's the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th year like?
The first year is all about finding friends, discovering Freiburg, getting acquainted with the 'academic world'. In the second year you develop more confidence in your academic skills, start to specialize and eventually take over some responsibility in committees or in some other extracurricular activities. The third year can be your wild and intensive year abroad with a lot of new people, new places and totally different university. The fourth year means enjoying everything that you love most about Freiburg and LAS but also being already one step into your new graduate life.

What is the most fun course you've taken?
The 'International Relations and Institutions' course explains International Relations theory with help of Hollywood movies like 'Wall-E' or 'Independence Day' and you get to watch them together in class. I think that quite a cool and innovative teaching concept.

What advice would you give to future LAS students?
New students should honestly follow their interest and their curiosity, make use of all the possibilities (Uni Freiburg, study abroad, EUCOR, ZFS, etc) and try to step out of their bubble every once in a while.

Can you explain LAS in one sentence?
Finding your interests/strengths as you interdisciplinarily enter the world of academia.

(June 2020)