Computer science student from Germany hones international skills at Lehigh

Patrick Schmid '03, who grew up in Tubingen, Germany, originally had his sights set on attending M.I.T., but he applied to several other schools and finally settled on Lehigh.

"Lehigh combines all the benefits of a smaller school with a wide variety of extracurricular activities, especially in the international arena. You definitely get a good education here, and the professors are very good."

Schmid compiled a 3.94 grade-point average while completing a B.S. in computer science in three years, and he found time to serve two years as president of the Global Union, Lehigh's second-largest student-run organization. He also served a year as president of Lehigh's student chapter of Tau Beta Pi.

This fall, he will begin working on an M.S. in computer science through Lehigh's Presidential Scholarship program, which grants a tuition-free fifth year of study to undergraduates who achieve a 3.5 GPA.

Last fall, with a PDA strapped to his hip, Schmid completed 22 credits while holding down two jobs - working on a computer-programming project for Terry Boult, professor of computer science and engineering, and re-vamping the website of the Lehigh Philharmonic Orchestra.

"I rely 100 percent on my schedule," he says, nodding at his PDA. "If something is in there, I'll remember to go to it months later. If it's not, I won't go."

The German Club, not surprisingly, was one of the first student groups to beckon Schmid.

"Being the only undergraduate from Germany, there was no way around me being in the German Club."

Schmid quickly became the club's representative to the Global Union.

"Then Bill Hunter [director of international students and scholars] asked if I had any interest in running the GU, and I said 'Sure, I'll do it,'" Schmid says.

As the GU president, Schmid helped plan the September 11th anniversary events on campus and helped organize the February campus visit by Imad Musa, producer of the Arab-based TV network Al Jazeera. He also helped coordinate Lehigh's International Bazaars, and played a major role in organizing International Week in 2002 and 2001.

"The decision to come to Lehigh was a good one," Schmid says. "Although I would have gotten a good education in Germany, I never would have been able to do all the things I've done here, which are worth a lot."