On Tuesday, 21st January 2025, we were happy to have the opportunity to meet Dave Panetti, a Foreign Service Officer from the US Department of State, now employed as a Consul of Public Relations at the US Consulate in Leipzig.
All students from courses 11DE1, 11DE2, 11MA and 12m went to the auditorium to listen to his presentation and ask questions of general interest. He talked about interesting topics such as the US` geography, his home state Minnesota, the US school system, his job as a consul and the relationship between the United States and Germany.
Panetti used to live in Minnesota where he worked as a teacher of geography and social studies at Prior Lake High School. We were impressed by the size of the school with about 3,000 students attending. We also noticed that many clichés you see in movies are actually true, like the typical yellow school buses that transport many kids to their school. 20 years ago he became a consul and has worked in Haiti, Moldova, Iraq and Turkey so far. As a result he can speak several languages like French or Turkish.
Furthermore, Dave Panetti talked about the relationship between the USA and Germany. He explained the importance of the NATO Alliance for the security of both countries. In addition, Panetti spoke about the various study and exchange programs between the two nations, such as spending a year at a US high school or university. This aroused some students` interest in traveling to the USA. Some can even imagine studying in the USA or working there for a certain period of time.
All in all, Dave Panetti told us many different aspects about the USA that left a strong impression on us. Since he answered our numerous questions, we got a good insight into the USA and the importance of its relationship to Germany.