German Department inducts Delta Epsilon Phi members and awards scholarships

Post date: Jun 8, 2018 1:57:02 PM

German students inducted into Delta Epsilon Phi, the German National Honor Society (Photos provided by Frau Guth-Degner)

By: Andrew Davis, Staff Writer

Posted June 8th, 2018

As the Slinger school year comes to a close, students of various subjects are being rewarded for the dedication and hard work they have put in. This is the case for several students who have received honorable inductions and scholarships for their involvement with the German courses offered here at Slinger.

This year, seven, or as German students would say, “sieben,” students were accepted into the Wisconsin Alpha Alpha Chapter of Delta Epsilon Phi, the German National Honor Society by its advisor Frau Erika Guth-Degner. These new members include Rachel Muhl, Kyrsten Faga, Lydia Wojcieszak, Katie Gresser, John Steinbach, Mitchell Erdmann, and Joshua Keagle. Membership to Delta Epsilon Phi is by invitation alone, and by being selected for this honor, these students are being recognized for their devotion to learning and mastering finer aspects of both the German language and culture. Eligible students must carry a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in High School as well as a 3.6 GPA in German. To show their association with the German National Honor Society, members will wear a braided cord of the German colors at graduation.

Another form of recognition for German students comes in the granting of scholarships. Slinger seniors received scholarships in the amount of $200 or $225 to be used to continue their German studies at the post-high school level. These seniors included Samuel Friedemann, Alex Muhl, Benjamin Pardon and Rebecca Rodenkirch. All of these winners are also members of Delta Epsilon Phi, the German high school national honor society.

The various awards handed out annually to the German students at Slinger is a tribute to the great foreign language option offered here and the fantastic teacher that lead these classes. The sole German teacher, Frau Erika Guth-Degner, has been with Slinger for 39 years, during which, she has taken charge of the German program at Slinger High School. Students of Frau Guth-Degner all talk about how charismatic and devoted she is to her pupils and the German language. On more than a few occasions, students of her class would leave the room singing “Schnitzelbank” or other classic German tunes. Frau Guth-Degner is an excellent teacher at Slinger, and her students and the school as a whole will be sad to see her retire at the end of this year.

Seniors receive German based scholarships (Photos provided by Frau Guth-Degner)