World@VCU: Joshua Maus from Germany

World@VCU is a VCU News feature, in partnership with the Global Education Office, that highlights students from around the world who enrich the Virginia Commonwealth University community. Joshua Maus is studying public administration in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

What should we know about your home country?

Germany is not just all about eating sausages and Oktoberfest! This is just part of Bavarian culture. Germans are pretty normal, like people here in the U.S. - we also enjoy watching Netflix series and so on. There's not that much of a difference, to be honest. There is something beyond the cliché.

What inspired you to study at VCU?

VCU is a partner university of my hometown and home university [Bauhaus University in Weimar], which made coming here easier and narrowed down my decision. I really liked that VCU is such a big university. VCU is so diverse and has a huge offering of cultural activities. There is such a wide and diverse range of courses I could take here that I cannot take at home.

Tell us about a favorite memory or experience so far here in America.

It's been an event with the Global Education Office - a conference on global leadership with presentations from people of various backgrounds [and] professors, but also students and people who were not directly involved with the university. You got to know all these speakers and contributors, and you were also able to connect with the audience because this conference was very interactive. This is what I love about all the events here - that you can always get to know people.

Has there been a surprise during your time studying abroad?

The first surprise directly hit me when I arrived. I didn't know that the dorms are furnished, but you don't have a blanket. You don't have pots and pans. I was like, "OK, now I need to go shopping."

Another surprise was the courses and the professors, because they are very student-oriented and down to earth. And to be honest, I had this prejudice, maybe from television, that professors are more like professors in Germany - less approachable, in a way. But here, they almost feel like people you want to talk to about your weekend.

Share something about a significant achievement or project.

There is this urban planning software where we map, and it helps planners visualize. We also use it in Germany, [but] I never used it. Here in the U.S. was the first time, and it has worked out great so far. I did it for a course, and it supported our group work and helped us visualize what we wanted to do. I was really proud of myself and what I created with it.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to go for walks here. Fortunately, my classes don't start before 10:30 or 11 a.m., so there's always some time in the morning to go for a walk. I love the Fan District, Oregon Hill and Hollywood Cemetery. They are all so beautiful, especially in the morning.

I also love to attend all the events that the Global Education Office hosts but also other events from clubs. I've joined the Urban Planners Club but also the Sugar Shelter, which is a baking club. I love to get to know people and talk to them, because sometimes it can feel a bit lonely here.

Give us a glimpse into your future.

I would love to do my master's in Norway, to get to know the culture a bit like I do here. I would love to be involved in urban planning - really live my profession and try to make cities more sustainable and more walkable so they actually work for everyone.

It is hard as an urban planner to really achieve this because there are so many small things that you have to take care of. And in the past, urban planners also thought they did something right, but we look back and it feels like, "What were they thinking?" But they also thought they were doing the right thing. I hope that I will do something right and help improve the lives and the surroundings of people.

Any advice for international students just starting their journeys?

The first is: Just go for it. Attend as many events as you can, because getting to know people, especially in the first weeks, is so important.

My second piece of advice: Don't take classwork too seriously. Of course, take it seriously. But before I came to VCU, I looked at some syllabuses and was so overwhelmed. But that's just the syllabus, just a piece of paper. When you attend the courses, you will soon realize that it's manageable.

And I got this advice from someone when I arrived here: Say yes to as many things as you can. I've tried this mindset - be open - and this helped me go to events and do some stuff that I would have never done in Germany or wouldn't normally do. Saying yes opens up so many things.