A New Adventure for Katharina Zausek

Photos by Rampage student photographer Nathan LePere.

Katharina Zausek is an international student at Bluefield University who came to the United States from Pinsdorf, Austria, to experience a new place and to get more opportunities for work.

“I graduated from HBLA Lentia for product management and presentation,” Zausek said about her education before BU.

She came to Bluefield in 2019 on a tennis scholarship, which is her main sport, but she is also a member of the BU cross-country team.

“I found Bluefield through a website that is used for athletic recruiting, and they offered me the best scholarship,” Zausek said. “I really wanted to get out of Austria for a while and come see a new place.”

Zausek is majoring in business with a minor in cybersecurity. Because she is hoping to graduate early, Zausek has been overloading her course schedule every semester she has been at BU.

“Right now, I am currently taking 32 credit hours this semester,” she said, “and I have taken around 25 hours every semester that I have been here.”

This is not surprising to her friends, as they describe her as hard-working and dedicated.

“Kat is always busy with something new around campus trying to experience and learn as much as she can,” said Zausek’s friend and fellow BU student Jessica Street. “Her work, especially her photographs, show how hard she works on a daily basis.”

Other BU students say Zausek is adventurous.

“Kat is definitely determined to get things done her way,” said another friend Adrianah Grajeda. “She’s a little bit risky and a bit of a perfectionist, but it’s worth it for the outcome.”

Grajeda also said Zausek is “self-driven” and “dependable.”

“She is a social butterfly and always makes sure the people around her are happy and taken care of,” Grajeda said. “If I could describe her in one word, I would say dependable.”

While Zausek is no longer on the tennis team at BU, she said she still loves the sport.

“I just had to put my academics first,” Zausek said about taking a break from tennis. “Taking as many hours as I do and trying to juggle matches and practice was really hard and was taking a toll on my grades, so I decided to quit to focus on my future.”

And Zausek has big plans for the future that include a lot of moving around and eventually living in America.

“I did an internship at the biggest consulting company of the world in Vienna (Austria) — Accenture,” Zausek said. “They are also based in Florida and New York. I will be the first student who graduates (from BU) after two and a half years, which will boost my resume. So, I am done in May 2022. I’ll fly back with my family and stay the summer in Austria. After that, I am flying to Miami or New York depending on where Accenture accepts me and move into my apartment.”

Zausek said she plans to stay and work at Accenture in America for one year, using the added year international students get in America after graduating from college.

“After that, I will see,” she said. “What I will definitely do is take a break from playing tennis and dance for one year in America.”

Zausek said she is ready to graduate and excited to see what her future holds.

“I’m not sure exactly what I will be doing for my career later in life, but I am excited to see where my life is going to go because I love adventure,” Zausek said. “I am also looking forward to a technology break once school is over.”