A native of Stillwater, Minnesota, Matthew Birkhold majored in German Literature and Cultural History and pursued a concentration in Art History.  He seeks to combine these fields in his professional life as he intends to become a professor of German Art History.  On the DAAD grant, he is pursuing a Masters degree in German Studies.  His research is on Die Brucke artists and Berlin specific feuilletons written from 1900-1930 and their representations of modernity and landscape.  When he was not studying German art, Matthew was the Assistant Manager of the CU Orchestra in which he played the Violin.  He was also a head tutor at the DoubleDiscoveryCenter and a member of the Columbia Badminton club.