Alex Slone is a Sociology major studying at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. He grew up in Northern California and has adopted the entrepreneurial mindset that region is known for. He has held internships with a health food startup and another startup focused on artificial intelligence and 3D sensors. Alex hopes to one day start a company and sees discovering different perspectives as a key challenge to do so. Since arriving in Prague, he has settled into his classwork and found time to travel to Barcelona, Krakow and Berlin. He writes, "I've come to realize that people are really not that different around the world. We all face the same problems and experience sadness and happiness. Really what is different is environment and culture." Over winter break, Alex will be staying with a family in a small town in Italy, working on a farm. The family is a Worldpacker host, a program that provides food and accommodation in exchange for doing work.
Jacob Habinek (Hungary & Czech Republic, 2003-04)
With a double major in General Biology and Religion, Jacob Habinek is planning to pursue graduate studies in Religion after finishing his undergraduate degree. He will divide his year abroad between Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary (fall 2003) and Charles University’s Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE) in Prague, Czech Republic (spring 2004). In a recent letter, Jacob commented: “While there is little I can pursue here with regards to my Biology major, Central Europe offers a fascinating number of opportunities for the student of religion, having been a meeting place of religious traditions for nearly a thousand years and many times a model of coexistence or a flashpoint of religious conflict during that tenure.” To improve his understanding of these complex situations and developments in the formerly Communist countries, Jacob is taking Sociology, Anthropology and History classes during the fall semester, and learning Hungarian as well. The fact that his ancestors came from this part of the world gives him an added motivation to learn about the region.