Natalie Strobach

Working with various departments on research can be very enriching. Comparative literature is entirely interdisciplinary, according to Natalie Strobach. “I have had advisors from the French Department, the German Department, and the Art History Department,” she said. “I also completed a designated emphasis in Critical Theory, which draws on an interdisciplinary faculty.”

The University of California, Davis seemed like it would offer a good experience for Strobach. “I loved the combination UC Davis offered, even among other Comparative Literature programs, of rigor and exploration,” she said.

Strobach thinks students will get out what they put in. UC Davis offers a lot of opportunities, but students must go out and get them. “Every aspect of my doctoral career has been delightful – exhausting, no doubt, but delightful nonetheless – because of this unique program that offers both structure and also the opportunity to work with other departments and foster unique interests.” Strobach said students should realize the importance of the course their department has set out for them, while simultaneously working to personalize and capitalize on that experience. “Make it your own,” she advises.

The daughter of a German immigrant, Strobach has “some inexplicable mad love for French” and plans to impact her community through teaching and mentoring, as well as through her research – which has already started by giving back to a program that helped her as an undergraduate student. “When I arrived at Davis, I immediately contacted the McNair Scholars Program staff to see if I could volunteer,” she said. McNair is a federal program for low-income, first-generation, underrepresented students. “Fortunately, they were looking for a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) to mentor students throughout the three quarters and the summer in preparation for the GRE and graduate school applications.” She has been teaching students in the program for four years alongside her duties as an instructor for the Comparative Literature and French departments. She continues to be thoroughly impressed with the support our diverse student body receives from that program, the Office of Graduate Studies, and the Federal McNair Scholars Program.

Strobach has also had the pleasure of teaching for the UC Davis Law School’s King Hall Outreach Program, which is a program similar to McNair, but focused on pre-law students. “It is yet another amazing body of students who fortunately have the support needed to capitalize on their undergraduate education,” she said. “Additionally, I am currently volunteering with the Graduate Academic Achievement and Advocacy Program where I have the opportunity to work one-on-one with undergraduate scholars who don’t have the support of a particular program and would like to benefit from mentorship.”

The experiences that Strobach has been able to take advantage of have been preparation for her future. “This is perfect because it both builds up my experience for one day being a professor, and it also helps me to develop my research by sharing texts I love and am working on with my undergraduate students.”

Outside of the office and classroom, you can find the Chicago implant on the quad with her dogs, Coco and Fleur, or doing something touristy. “I have to fit some tourism in whenever I can!” Strobach was also just awarded the Provost’s Dissertation Fellowship for 2012-2013, so she will have a busy year of writing ahead.