The German Department at Diablo Valley College is about more than learning the language. It’s about helping students find community and opportunities, according to its chair, Christina McDade. The department puts on many activities, events and even films throughout the year that allow students to connect and grow. 

Many students have used their newfound skills in German to help navigate other aspects of their lives. For instance, DVC student Kenny Hilton, who took German last semester, has enjoyed access to opportunities like study abroad programs, honor societies and creative projects such as filmmaking. 

“I learned a lot from my German class with Christina,” said Hilton. “Other than the language, I made some cool friends and was also able to be in one of the short films.” 

McDade, who has taught all levels of German for 11 semesters at DVC, previously taught at the University of Hawaii for 12 years. She said around 50 students enroll in the German Department per semester, where McDade is essentially a one-woman show, transforming the program through the community she has helped create — and even producing her own films that will be used by students for years to come. 

McDade said students in the language department gain more than just a knowledge of German. They also find friendships and community, with some of them building lifelong connections and deep relationships. 

“I think that mutual support that the students are giving and getting from each other makes these really long-lasting friendships,” said McDade. “All of these activities that we have allow people to grow on a personal level, outside of class.”

She added that many of these connections emerge due to the events the department puts on, like its annual Oktoberfest, which is a German festival that celebrates Bavarian culture with beer, food, music and dancing. 

McDade emphasizes to her students the real-world relevance of learning German. According to the language resource site Lingoda, over 130 million people in the world currently speak German.

The German Department has also recently directed and produced two short films to encourage other DVC students to study German. Many in the department volunteered and acted in the films, along with some friends and family they recruited. 

The first film, “Passkontrolle,” (“Passport Control”), was an award-winning, student-driven project that used humor and creativity to showcase the value of learning German. It is a comedic commercial that shows how German can be used in many different situations.

The original script was written in German by McDade, her son Garret McDade and other students. After premiering in DVC’s Forum Theater in, it later won the 2022 American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Film Contest in the Filmwettbewerb College Category. 

The department’s second short film, “Die Postkarte” based on an old German story, “Eine Postkarte für Herrn Altenkirch,” is currently being entered into a film festival, according to McDade. It will not be released to the public until after the festival, she said.

Although the film was not part of their grade, many German students spent hours volunteering on the project both in front of and behind the camera. In exchange, many of them made lasting connections with their colleagues.

McDade said the second film, “Die Postkarte,” is even better quality than the first movie, and explained how students made some of the film set themselves. 

She said one student from the department even volunteered their bedroom for the film set, and the student film crew had to remove her furniture to transform it into a 1947 house in East Germany.

McDade’s son, Garret, who has a bachelor’s degree in film studies from University of California,  Santa Cruz, and a Youtube channel, directed the film. Over the past couple of semesters, he has been heavily involved in the DVC German Department, organizing and directing the two films the department has produced. 

“I think it was the biggest creative outlet that I’ve ever been given as a student,” said Garret McDade, in a recent conversation with The Inquirer.  

He explained that as a result of the film, many students got to experience and learn new skills other than German, such as acting or filmmaking.  

“It gives them something to show for their work,” said Garret McDade. “It’s something that could look good on a resume, too, especially with how much effort went into it.”

“I think the students were proud of it,” he added. “It was something they could look at and be like, ‘Wow, we made this.'” 

For some students, the experience represented their first time ever acting or being in a film. 

Hilton, a second-year philosophy major who helped work on “Passkontrolle,” said he was anxious at first, but later happy that he had tried something outside his comfort zone. 

“I was a bit nervous when they asked me to act in it. I mainly wanted to help with filming and behind-the-scenes, even though I was new to that, too,” said Hilton. 

Hilton described his positive experience working with the German Department and encouraged others to join if they want to get involved in school activities or seek a new community of students. He praised Professor McDade especially for opening up the unique space for students to grow and learn together.   

“Christina is an extremely hard worker, she is very dedicated to her job and always puts her students first,” he said. “I knew absolutely no German… [I’m] not saying I am an expert now, but she has helped so many students find their passion and honestly just make learning a new language fun.” 

For McDade, teaching students the rich and complicated German language is a challenge she embraces.  

“Even though students have no direct connection to Germany, they just love it. Anyone can speak German, and it helps them connect with people and cultures all over the world,” she said.

During the summer semester, three DVC German students have the chance to study abroad in Bonn, Germany for a month, though McDade hopes to increase the available seats to four. 

The department also recognizes the German National Honor Society, Epsilon Phi Delta, which McDade brought to DVC in Spring 2023.

 “You have to have a 3.2 GPA in German and give five hours of volunteer time to the German Department to be inducted,” said McDade. 

In return, honor students receive a certificate and an extra cord to wear for graduation, and many put it on their resume to showcase their skills to employers.  

Lastly, McDade talked about the annual Oktoberfest that the German Department puts on with student volunteers.

“It’s one of the many activities we do to bring students together, outside of class, to immerse themselves in German culture,” said McDade. 

“Whenever you’re learning a new language, it’s like you’re a child in that language again. That vulnerability and then the mutual support makes these really long-lasting friendships.”