By Ritik Shrestha ’22
In January, Allen Bertsche joined CC as director of global education, a role that aims to expand on the college’s emphasis on cultural exchange. He says he’s excited to become a part of the campus and to help give CC students the chance to expand their horizons through international travel. Here is your chance to get to know Bertsche as he shares his experiences as well as his goals.
What is the main way your position will impact students at CC?As the new director of global education, I am involved in all international exchange on campus. This means that I work to bring international students to Colorado Springs as well as send our own students on study abroad trips. A big part of my job is putting together budgets and programs so that our students have places to go on their study abroad trips as well as the financial backing to make said trips possible. I will also play a role in selecting mentors and processing applications and visas for international student orientation, and the global scholar’s program.
What is your professional and educational background before CC?
I was born in Long Island, New York, but I decided to travel halfway across the country to Indiana University for my undergraduate schooling. I majored in Spanish with a focus on Latin American Studies, and I spent my entire senior year abroad in Spain. I then went to the University of Wisconsin to get a master’s degree in Spanish literature which I then followed by going back to Spain to work as an English teacher. Finally, I came back to the University of Wisconsin to finish my schooling by getting a Ph.D. in Spanish literature. After I finished my studies I joined Augustana College in 1996 to become a Spanish professor. I taught all sorts of courses but I wanted to have a bigger role in promoting cultural exchange. In 2006, I switched roles and started to work in the college’s Office of International Programs where I did a lot of the same things I will be responsible for at CC. The problem was that it was a one-person office and having to send 350 students abroad every year got very tiring. I figured that I had maxed out what I could do there and it was time for a new challenge, which ended up being CC.
Why do you think you are a good fit for the job?
Given my own experience as a former faculty member who led study abroad programs, I feel like I have a good amount of insight into what work is needed to get the job done. I have been through a lot of these situations and I know how to tackle them. My old job at Augustana College had many responsibilities dealing with budgets and visas so I am also very used to that aspect of my job and I know how to work efficiently. Finally, I feel like I am pretty creative and I work well with solving problems on the fly such as budget issues, program vacancies, and difficulties that occur while students are abroad.
What influenced you to get into this field and profession?
My grandparents spoke Spanish and my mother was bilingual so I always had a desire to discover this other part of me. I got my first chance of doing that in 10th grade when I went to Venezuela for a month on an exchange program. This along with my other travels to Spain got me very interested in languages but more specifically the learning that comes with cultural exchange. I originally wanted to be a Spanish teacher but I wanted a way to combine cultural immersion into my job and this position was a great fit.
What do you like about CC so far?
The students here are very entrepreneurial. There are a ton of great ideas that they want to make happen and that lets me be creative to try to turn these ideas into a reality. I also feel like the staff here is very friendly and there is a strong emphasis on collaboration and support which always makes working more fun. This is also apparent in the student body as I like how inclusion and acceptance are two values that are very important among the members of this campus. Finally, I love Rastall! Compared to what my college food was like, I can tell you that this is great.
What do you like to do when you are not working?
Being new to Colorado Springs I have really gotten into hiking. This place is great for outdoor activities and I plan to take full advantage of all the great spots around the city. I’ve already been to trails on the prairie as well as the foothills and I plan to do a lot more. I’m also a big football fan so I like to catch games on Sundays and I really like soccer although my team (Everton) isn’t having the best of seasons right now. I actually got to see them play live in England and let me tell you, the atmosphere is really something else!
What is one interesting fact that people might not know about you?
When I was in college I actually managed to build quite the FBI file although it was all by coincidence. A few friends and I were in DC when we decided to go to the Andrews Air Force Base where they house the president’s plane, Air Force One. We were able to get on the runway and we were poking around the new F16 fighter jets which probably wasn’t the best idea now that I think about it. Little did we know that while we were on the tarmac, the base was conducting an anti-terrorist drill. I guess they thought we were the simulation terrorists and next thing I know a bunch of army cars and armed officials are surrounding us asking for IDs. They actually even looked us up in their database and were telling us information about ourselves that they shouldn’t have known. It was pretty scary at the moment but now it’s definitely a good story to tell.
