Lauren maintains that she would not be working for T-Systems if she did not speak German, as she began there three years ago as a document translator. She uses her German skills on a daily basis, teaching her colleagues the language, teaching the Project Management methodology in German to her colleagues in Germany (Berlin, Wolfsburg and Kassel) and still completes ad hoc translations as one of only a handful of German speaking Americans on staff.
She'd be happy to share her experiences at Oakland, studying abroad, working for an international company, etc. with anybody who is interested and can be contacted at lcschoenstein@yahoo.com or Lauren.Schoenstein@t-systems.com.
On a personal note, she and her husband Ron are raising their daughter Anja bilingually.