It pays to be the chairwoman of the Foreign Language department at Sacramento State. Take a look at the office of Marjorie Gelus. It may be the nicest on campus and, to her credit, she deserves every square inch of it. The German language professor spends her workdays in a corner of Mariposa Hall. The sinking afternoon sun pours through the windows and illuminates the room in a warm and welcome glow.

“I love it,” she said of her comfortable hideaway. “It’s just absolutely fabulous.”

Gelus’ tenure at Sac State has afforded her experiences and accomplishments which have led to her present position. Through it, her ability to influence and guide the department, relying on her personal experiences with students, faculty and academics has been paramount in her success.

Gelus attended UC Berkeley at a time when it was most volatile-the 1960s. It was there that she realized that the study of foreign language, German in particular, was the not-so-beaten path she wanted to travel. She loved being a Golden Bear so much she graduated twice, with a master’s degree and a doctorate in German Literature.

But the story begins long before the Summer of Love, and Berkeley, and even the ’60s. As a girl Gelus lived in Houston, Texas before her father, who worked for the Shell Oil Company, was transferred to Holland. The family would stay for two years.

“It changed my life,” Gelus said. It was in this Scandinavian state that she was submerged into a life where English had limited application. She began to pick up Dutch as well as the surrounding languages of French and Latin.

In June 2005, Gelus attended a German Studies Seminar in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship. For two months, she traveled through the beautiful and historic German countryside and studied some of the foremost issues of the nation.

“Germany is still feeling the after-effects of reunification,” Gelus said. It was more than 16 years ago that the Berlin Wall came crumbling down. “It’s still struggling-economically as well as socially.”

The trip provided her a means to enjoy the culture and allowed her to further her knowledge of the language and the people.

“I had an absolutely fabulous time,” Gelus said of her time spent between Hamburg, Berlin and Lipzig “The Fulbright program does a magnificent job.”

Back here in the United States, Gelus remains passionate about the place where she most loves to be-in front of a classroom. Teaching Elementary German, she offers the very first impression that many students get of the German language and culture.

“There are so many beautiful stories that were written in German,” Gelus said. “And there is just so much culture to experience.”

For the past 23 years, Gelus has been a part of the diverse Sac State faculty, but has taught German and its literature since the early 1970s when she instructed at Queens College in New York.

“She is a person of integrity, honesty and incredible vision. She’s extremely dedicated to her work and is a phenomenal leader,” said Foreign Language associate professor Kathy Moore, who’s worked with Gelus since 1987. “When anyone in the department has an idea, she’s very supportive and right there with you. She just believes in people.”

Gelus has made an impact on newer faculty members as well. French assistant professor Nicole Buffard arrived at Sac State in 2002 and immediately recognized the leadership of the department. “She’s very professional, thorough and hardworking,” Buffard said. “She’s definitely someone you can rely on.”

Aside from learning German folk tales like Rumpelstiltskin, learning and becoming familiar with the language is the primary goal of the curriculum.

“In German, there are 16 ways to say the word ‘the,’ and beginning students find that daunting,” Gelus said. “But it’s really not as hard as the reputation it gets.”

She also acknowledges the glaring dark history of the nation and its involvement with World War II and Adolf Hitler.

“We do recognize the history of the country and discuss its effects,” Gelus said.

When she’s not discussing the affects of the Third Reich or traveling abroad, you’ll find her simply buried in a book, entertaining her two cats, Oscar and Sparky, or planning her next big adventure. This September she plans to travel to Russia to visit a fellow Fulbright professor, Olga Kovbasyuk, who lectured at Sac State in the fall of 2004 and the spring of 2005. “I can’t wait,” Gelus said.

Traveling to and studying foreign countries has their not-so-obvious advantage as well. Gelus remarked that learning about the culture and the people can uncover a different view of the world, as well as many of the important issues involving it. And while studying can give you knowledge about it, first hand experience is second to none.

“You’ll find that there is a whole other way of talking about reality,” Gelus said. “In Germany, they definitely see the world differently.”

Josh Huggett can be reached at [email protected]