This semester, MUDEC students and faculty welcomed a new permanent member of the Château - former Student Activities Coordinator and professor Stephanie Shaheen, who began her role as MUDEC Associate Director on September 1.
Shaheen has had a unique journey at MUDEC. She started out as a student almost 30 years ago, following in her sister's footsteps and studying abroad in Luxembourg where she stayed for a whole year. Back then, MUDEC was located in Luxembourg City, which is also where many students lived, including Shaheen. Just like students today, she spent her free time studying in the Cave and participated in a Study Tour for class.
Unlike students today, she and her classmates had to exchange currency everywhere they went and relied on maps to navigate unfamiliar cities. Calling home was also different, and she said that most students planned a certain time each week to call their families, often using a pay phone at the post office.
After returning back to Oxford and graduating from Miami University, Shaheen worked for a shipping company in Pittsburgh, speaking French for a year, during which time the Student Activities Coordinator position at MUDEC opened up. She moved back to Luxembourg and worked as the MUDEC Student Activities Coordinator from 1994-97.
“My favorite part of the job was watching the students arrive and seeing, sort of, how little they knew and how everything was so exciting and different,” she said. “And then seeing by the end, how they knew how to travel, they knew how to behave culturally. They knew how to do everything that they had not known and they learned so much in one semester. That's amazing.”
After her time as the Student Activities Coordinator, she returned to the United States to continue studying higher education and student affairs. She attended Ohio State University, earning both her master’s degree and her PhD while working as a study abroad advisor.
After her time at Ohio State, Shaheen moved back to Luxembourg, and by 2005 was working at the U.S. Embassy while also teaching at MUDEC. At the U.S. Embassy, she worked in education and culture while also speech writing, event planning, and working in public affairs. On Sept. 1, she left her job at the embassy and began working full time at MUDEC as the assistant director.
“This is definitely where my passion is,” Shaheen said. “Not only teaching, but also getting to spend time with students and sort of shape their experience. [It's] such a full circle moment for me, because 30 years ago I was a student here. And so getting to come back and actually think about affecting and impacting students' experiences and how the program is run, and making it a program that will sustain so that students can come for years and years to come… is really exciting.”
