Profile for Dane DeVetter

Brief biography

My interest in global cultures and languages started in middle school when my family hosted an exchange student, Florian, from Munich, Germany. Florian, as well as my brother and his high school German teacher, encouraged me to learn German, and I had the privilege of attending Waldsee, one of the Concordia Language Villages the following summer. Concordia Language Villages are located near Bemidji, Minnesota, and each village provides immersive language and cultural learning experiences for youth and adults. After spending two weeks there my first summer as a 13-year-old, I returned to spend four weeks the next two summers, which cemented my love of language and my desire to learn more.

In high school, I participated in the La Crosse-Dubna Friendship Association's student exchange program, which gave me the opportunity to spend four weeks in Dubna, Russia, where I lived with a host family, learned about the Russian language and culture, and visited some of Russia's most famous landmarks. I continued my education as an international studies major at UW-Madison and took courses in German, Arabic, and Farsi. As a junior, I took part in study abroad programs in Alexandria, Egypt and Fes, Morocco. After graduating, I served for two years in AmeriCorps with Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin before earning my master's in international affairs from Marquette University.

Before entering my current role at the Language Resource Center, I was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Freiburg and Dresden, Germany, where I partnered with secondary school English teachers to enhance their teaching of the English language and American culture and society. I am happy to share my love of language with UWL students and encourage them to seek opportunities to learn, travel, and grow as global citizens.

When I'm not at the LRC or elsewhere on campus, I can often be found riding my bike around town, enjoying La Crosse's trail systems, or camping at one of our region's many great parks.