2019-2020 Staff
Sami Anderson
Outreach Director
Sami is a sophomore majoring in German and Linguistics with an emphasis in TESL, and has led the outreach efforts for Das Blatt this year. Sami uses the German language and culture not only in her studies, but also as a form of self-expression and a wonderful community on and off campus. This publication is a way for her to spread her passion and give other students the opportunity to engage with this community of learners.
Dante R. Benjegerdes
Content and Graphic Design
Dante is a senior at the University of Iowa studying Theatre Arts with a minor in German. They are working on the Content Committee and doing graphic design for the publication. Dante is a Theatre Artist who has always been inspired by language, culture, and community. They hope Das Blatt will provide an opportunity for students to share in their passions both now and in the years to come.
Cassandra Bertolini
Website Layout
Cassandra is a senior studying German, English and Creative Writing, and translation at the University of Iowa. She has worked on the website layout for Das Blatt this year. Cassandra is excited to see this new publication grow and serve as a way for students to showcase their writing and art related to exploring language and culture.
Maggie Fischer
General Director
Maggie is a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in German and History. She is thrilled to have served as the General Director for Das Blatt this year. She has been fortunate to have studied at both Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg and the University of Iowa. Through these experiences, she has seen how language can bring communities together and build bridges of empathy and understanding. Maggie has a passion for sharing German with her campus and hopes that Das Blatt helps you experience language in a new and unique way.
Noah Hochstetler
Social Media Officer
Noah is a German major with an International Relations minor. He studied abroad in Freiburg, on the Academic Year in Freiburg exchange program. He decided to study German because German classes were the most fun and made the most sense to him mentally. He enjoys playing guitar, singing, and hopes to one day start his own Brauerei.
Andrew Jansen
Content Committee
Andrew Jansen is a senior at the University of Iowa who studies Philosophy and German.
Kyler Johnson
Content Committee
Bursting with energy and ideas, Kyler Johnson has a goal to bridge the world together through the power of language. A writer, a linguist, and a hopeful future educator, he seeks bursts of adventure in a life of reflection and continuous learning. Spending a full year prior to college in Charleroi, Belgium, he hopes to continue traversing internationally, sharing his taste of the world with anybody who has the will to read or listen. Das Blatt, being a bilingual magazine full of people from one of his favorite communities on campus — German speakers — is just a perfect to do what he loves with people he loves.
Jennifer Lane-Murcia
Content Committee
Jennifer is a sophomore at the University of Iowa studying Chemistry and German. She is working on the Content Committee this year, reading and evaluating submissions. For Jennifer, Das Blatt is a cool way to make German more prevalent in our community and allow students to more deeply engage with topics that they are already interested in.
Leanne Lenhart
Content Committee
Leanne is a senior studying German and Political Science. She works on the Content Committee for Das Blatt. Leanne is passionate about the German language and culture and she thought Das Blatt would be a unique opportunity for students to express their creativity and share their own experiences with German.
Brandon Pahl
Content Committee
Brandon is a senior studying German and English and Creative Writing at the University of Iowa. He works on the Content Committee for Das Blatt. Brandon has a passion for the German language and became involved in Das Blatt to share that passion with others.