Â
Our latest Campus Cutie is a foreign exchange student from Germany with good looks and an awesome personality. Meet Leonard Sutner!
Â
Name:
Leonard Suttner
Year:
Junior
Age:
21
Major:
“Urban and Regional Studies” (VCU)
“Urbanistik” (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
Birthday:
June 17th
Relationship Status:
Single
Hometown:
Rimpar (a village very close to the city WĂĽrzburg in northern Bavaria, Germany)
Why did you decide to study in the U.S.?
My undergraduate study program back in Germany requires me to spend one or two semesters outside of Germany. I could have done an internship somewhere or attended one of our partner universities all over the world. VCU happens to be one of those partner institutions and is the only option within the US. To me it was always clear, that I want to spend my year abroad in the US, just because I love a lot of things that I strongly associate with this country and its lifestyle (basketball, football, hip-hop, good fast-food, etc.). I just really wanted to get to know the American (college-)lifestyle better, especially after I spent three month of 11th grade in a high school near Edmonton, AB in Canada.
What is your most memorable experience in the U.S. thus far?
This is a tough questions, as there are so many new and fascinating things I was blessed to discover here so far. The first Rams basketball game, getting to party with red solo cups my first night here or playing football for the first time in my life for the VCU club team are probably among my favorites.
But during my trip to the West Coast this winter break, I met Dennis Rodman in a Las Vegas casino bar. That was pretty random and pretty awesome.
Explain some of the differences you noticed about studying in the U.S. as opposed to Germany?
I feel that the biggest difference is tuition (to compare: tuition in all but one German state is between 150$ and 250$ per semester). The amount of money that going to VCU costs really influences the atmosphere around here. It seems like everybody is trying to finish school as fast as possible, the student body in general is really young and I am amazed by the amount of time students (have to) work next to classes to earn money. It is really surprising to me that there is not really a broad and “loud” student movement against this tuition system, whose normal outcome seems to be a graduate who earned a degree as well as massive debt in college.
Regarding the classes, everything feels a little more high-school-like to me – attendance sheets, weekly homework assignment, etc. I do really like the rather small class sizes though.
Other than that, I am really impressed with the whole club and organization structure and the other extra-curricular activities that goes on here. There seems to be something for everybody to get involved with, and to meet people. VCU also provides great resources for its students – a lot of students housing, the state-of-the-art gym, the libraries, etc.
Describe your dream girl:
Maybe someone beautiful and really nice and cool? Also, it would certainly help if she’s a good beach-volleyball player and likes pretzels.
Describe your ideal date:
Just not going out for dinner and seeing a movie afterward. Maybe rather biking around town and hanging out on the river enjoying the sun and the water.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Asleep, adventurous, frugal