Visit of Shawn A. Kobb, U.S. Cultural Attaché

2022

Feb

15

Organized by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Pécs and the American Corner of Pécs, Shawn A. Kobb, cultural attaché from the U.S. Embassy to Hungary visited Pécs. His presentation titled "Focus on American Culture and Diplomacy" took place on 10 February, in the framework of ‘The History of the United States’ course.

In the lecture hall filled with curious students, the guests were greeted by dr. Magdolna Lehmann, head of the Institute of English Studies, and dr. László Sári, head of the MA programme in American Studies, which will be launched in September. Both have already received Fulbright scholarships, which has been a great experience for them. At the beginning of his engaging speech, Shawn Kobb explained the operation of the embassy and the diplomatic corps in his presentation. We learned that this is the seventh posting of the attaché, who originally comes from the state of Indiana, and also his fifth overseas position. Before his service in Kiev, he studied Russian, German before his posting to Vienna, and Hungarian for a year before arriving in Hungary, which he continues to learn in Hungary as well.

In his lecture, the Foreign Service Officer also mentioned a number of scholarship opportunities offered by the United States, in which Vera Kovács, the alumni coordinator of the U.S. Embassy, also helped.

"Anyone who travels to the United States or another country on a scholarship and spends a few weeks, one semester or more there, will have a wonderful experience, they will see the world differently by learning about another culture. Anyone who has ever studied a foreign language will learn to see the world from a different perspective."

- emphasized Shawn Kobb. After his lecture, he answered several questions enthusiastically. He shared with the audience that with his knowledge of the Hungarian language he can surprise people at times, that in Kiev people were a little suspicious of the American who was very kind to everyone, and that the attaché also worked as a 911 dispatcher.