Foreign Territory

Some people believe, “good things happen in threes.” For Gerrick Hicks (‘14) that’s not simply an age-old question, but a ‘major’ fact.

As one of Georgia Southern’s most recent graduates, Hicks was not only a triple major, but studied three different and distinct languages over the course of four years: German, Spanish and French. Although it’s not the first time a Georgia Southern student has majored in three subjects in the University’s history, it is a rare achievement. “I just really enjoy being challenged and my parents always pushed me to do the best that I can,” said the Athens, Georgia native.

Hicks admits he learned German as a high school exchange student in Dortmund, Germany, but had never spoken Spanish or French when he arrived at Georgia Southern. His plan was to double-major in foreign languages. Hicks said he added the third when he just couldn’t decide between Spanish and French. “I have always had a very heavy course load so I was used to that,” Hicks said. “The toughest part about being a triple major was getting the languages mixed up in the different classes.”

An aspect that helped Hicks accomplish his goal was the ability to study abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland, for a year. That allowed Hicks to accumulate foreign language credits in a short amount of time. “The Study Abroad program gave me a complete immersion in French. It gave me a fluency in French that I would not have been able to accomplish had I not gone,” he said. “And by being in Switzerland, I was able to speak all three languages, plus English, on a daily basis.”

Professor of German Horst Kurz called Hicks’ achievement remarkable. “This past January, he gave a presentation at the Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference in Columbus, Georgia, and almost won an award, until it turned out nobody could read his full paper because it was written in German,” Kurz said.

The HOPE scholar was president of the German club for two years, a tutor for the English language program, and participated in the University Honors Program. In August, Hicks will begin working on his master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations, with the ultimate career goal of working in the international human resources division of an international company.

To his enormous educational accomplishment, we say Die besten Wünsche für die Zukunft (Best wishes for the future)! – Sandra Bennett