When she unknowingly launched her career, Anne Wieben was a senior in college unsure of her next professional move and regretting having never studied abroad. She decided to take a fifth year of college (a “super senior” year, as she calls it!), and with several years of studying French under her belt, began looking for study abroad music programs in France. When none panned out, she temporarily went in a totally new direction: one year teaching women’s health in Senegal, a French-speaking African country.
That was until Anne actually went to sign up for the Senegal program. She showed up early that day, and while waiting in the lobby grabbed a random binder filled with programs in countries beginning with the letter “A.” The first page she opened said, “Study Music in Vienna, Austria!” Better yet, there was no language requirement. When Anne’s advisor called her into her office, Anne told her to forget Senegal, she was going to Austria! A master’s degree in opera and a career as a freelance opera singer soon followed.