The Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies
BA, MBA, MA & PhD Programs
Our Students
Mike Pressl
MA in International Relations & Cultural Diplomacy
From the United States of AmericaI am currently pursuing an MA in International Relations and Cultural Diplomacy at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin. The program is in partnership with the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, where my fellow students and I will spend the 2014-15 school year.
My bachelor's degree is in International Relations, with a focus on Europe, from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. I graduated from this course in May 2012. Moreover I studied Spanish and Music as minors.
Professionally, my interests include sustainable development, improving transatlantic relations, human rights implementation, conflict management, cultural programming, and other international relations-based fields. In regards to my future prospects, I ultimately aim to work in Washington D.C.
In reference to my professional experience, I was employed by a real estate law firm in Washington D.C. for a period of six months following my college graduation, but I left after deciding to pursue a different career path and subsequently moved to Germany to begin my MA with the ICD.
Regarding my personal interests, music is my favourite pastime. I play the piano, guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, and now, the drums. Additionally, I teach lessons in these instruments, compose music, and create online videos featuring these instruments.
Furthermore, languages and travelling are two of my other great interests. I am near-fluent in Spanish and also have limited working knowledge of German and American Sign Language (ASL). Regarding travel, I have lived and studied in Granada, Spain for a semester and have also volunteered in the Dominican Republic near the capital Santo Domingo twice. Aforementioned, I am currently living and studying in Berlin, Germany.