From Iowa to Hamburg: One CIEE Alum's Journey to Finding Home Abroad

Austin Sørensen, CIEE Alumni (2010)

Austin grew up in Shenandoah, Iowa — a town of about 5,000 people with a decades-long tradition of welcoming international exchange students. That early exposure to the world planted a seed. Years later, he's living and working full-time in Hamburg, Germany. We caught up with him to hear how it all unfolded. 

You grew up around international students in a small Iowa town. Did that early exposure shape how you think about the world? 

Absolutely. Getting to know students from Italy, Austria, and Asia, it was a genuinely eye-opening experience. You're hanging out with someone, doing extracurricular activities together, taking them to explore the area. Every single student was a new memory. It made the idea of being that student somewhere else feel a little more real, though making that leap yourself is quite another thing. 

What drew you to study abroad through CIEE? 

Growing up in a town that welcomed international students every year, I already had a sense of what it meant to open your world to someone different from you. CIEE gave me the chance to flip that and be the one stepping into something unfamiliar. And honestly? The initial motivator was food. I know that sounds a bit silly, but one of the things I learned is that you get so much more out of an experience abroad than you expect. CIEE made what felt insurmountable, traveling abroad, navigating a new culture, feel safe and structured enough to take the leap. Once I was there, that fear of not knowing the language or the area just melted away. That confidence doesn't leave you. I carry it everywhere I've gone since. 

Was there a CIEE program moment that stood out? 

The teaching development course in Seville. It was a low-commitment, exploratory opportunity to see if teaching English as a second language might interest me with no stings attached in terms of commitment after the program. I ended up helping a group of kindergarten students learn English, and at the very end, they put on a little presentation to show off what they'd learned. It was such a wonderful group of people, maybe 7 or 8 of us, and we became really close. That's the kind of program I'd recommend to anyone: something that lets you explore a new direction without the pressure of committing to it.  

You eventually made another leap to living and working abroad full-time. How did that happen? 

A friend from my hometown had moved to London after college, then eventually to Berlin, and she kept telling me how many English-speaking jobs existed there — especially in the startup world. I had hit a wall in my corporate job, I'd gone through a breakup, and I had enough savings to take the adventure seriously. So, I did my research (a lot of research!), packed up, and moved to Germany without a job yet, and without ever having studied German in my life. 

Has it been difficult for you to make friends while living abroad? 

I had imagined it would be quite difficult, especially when I don't speak German fluently enough to have in-depth conversations. However, I leaned into our reliance on tech and joined a networking app [called TimeLeft]. Each Wednesday evening, they meet in groups of six people at various restaurants across the city (and all over Europe), which are organized by the app. Each of the groups are matched based on a short quiz, and I have met a large group of other expats and local people looking for new friends through this experience.  

That sounds terrifying. What made you feel like it might actually work? 

About six months in, I had a second interview with what became my current employer, a small 15-person team. You could just sense the warmth of the staff and their genuine interest in my background. That was the moment I thought: this experiment might actually work out. Before that, I was still very much prepared in thinking that I may need to return to Iowa.  

 What surprised you most about the process of building a life somewhere new? 

The patience required. You do everything you can, as well as you can, and then you wait. You have to have faith in the system and confidence in yourself. Also, small things matter more than you'd expect. For example, learning not to list your home address on a resume in Europe so employers don't assume you need relocation costs covered. Finding a website called Simple Germany, started by an expat couple, that walks you through everything from city registration to grocery store etiquette. Those little pieces of practical knowledge made a huge difference. 

 How's your German coming along? 

I can understand about 80 percent of what someone says to me. Speaking back fluently, that's still a work in progress. I have a coworker who speaks French fluently, and German is what works best between us, so that's been a genuine motivator to keep expanding my vocabulary. But I'll admit: when I get home after a full day of reading German emails and working with German speakers, I just want to watch something in English. Our language being so widely spoken is a gift, and sometimes it can be a motivation-killer. 

 What would you say to a student who's curious about studying or living abroad but feels like it's out of reach? 

I had a conversation recently with someone in DC who was fascinated by my choice to move abroad and that I’m building a life there. And I think that wonder says something. People assume it's insurmountable. But it's not undoable. CIEE helped me understand that. It makes the world smaller, and it makes your dreams feel more like plans. 

 What does being a "global changemaker" mean to you? 

Finding unity in our differences. Finding common interests across cultures and using that to push progress forward. I don't know that I'd have used that phrase about myself before, but after that conversation in a DC coffee shop, having someone  ask how I did it and wanting to know how they could work abroad too, I thought, maybe that is what this is. Making the world feel a little more reachable for someone else. 

 You've talked about wanting to stay connected and give back to CIEE. What does that mean to you? 

CIEE gave me something I didn't fully appreciate until years later. CIEE helped me gain the  confidence to believe the world was something I could actually participate in, not just observe from a distance. That's not a small thing. If I can help sustain that for the next student who grows up in a small town and thinks traveling abroad sounds exciting but impossible, that feels worthwhile. You know, I might even be a host myself one day! 

Austin Sørensen ‘10 currently lives and works as a business analyst in Hamburg, Germany, where he remains passionate about staying connected to the CIEE community — whether as a resource for students and alumni exploring opportunities in Germany, a local contact for those navigating life abroad, or a champion for the more than 1.5 million alumni who make up the CIEE global community. As CIEE celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2027, Austin is proud to be part of a community that has been building bridges and changing lives and is excited to see what comes next.