Germany to Indiana
Germany to Indiana
My name is Marius Sander. I am a 18-year-old student from Germany. My hometown is called Greussen and located in Thuringia, right in the middle of Germany.
I did a five-week internship at the James Dean Gallery in Fairmount, Indiana, the birthplace and hometown of Hollywood Icon and actor James Dean. I currently attend the high school for one more year and an internship was a graduation requirement.
Usually students look for an opportunity to work near their hometowns and not in a foreign country. But I have always wanted to get some experience in the U.S. I have been a huge fan of this wonderful country since my childhood. Moreover, I am serious fan of James Dean. You are asking yourself now, for sure: How did he find this workplace in a town with 2,000
inhabitants. Let me explain: I simply found the Gallery on the internet. The next step was to get in touch with James Dean archivist David Loehr. I wrote him an email and asked him if I could do an internship at his museum from June 9 to July 12, 2014. After a whole week I did receive an answer: Mr. Loehr confirmed my request. I think I was the happiest person on earth when I was reading his response.
After I had told my school my plans, booked the flight and packed my luggage, I flew for the first time ever from Berlin to the USA on June 6. First stop was Düsseldorf, then to Chicago and, finally, Indianapolis. I was totally happy when I was arriving in Indy after a 16-hour-flight. Mr. Loehr fortunately picked me up from the airport and we drove approximately an hour and a half to Fairmount. A
dream came true for me: working for James Dean and getting school credits for it.
words and photo by Marius Sander