DATE: Friday, September, 12, 1997           TAG: 9709110539

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Making a difference 

TYPE: Education 

SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   65 lines

GERMAN STUDENT FOUND HIS AMERICAN WAY

When Dominik Reichenmiller moved to Virginia Beach with his family from Germany three years ago, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing.

At First Colonial High, some teens called him ``Nazi'' and asked how many Jews he had killed. And though he had taken English since fifth grade, ``it was hard to understand people at first. I was a very slow reader and I had trouble expressing myself.''

It all worked out.

Reichenmiller became one of the crowd, getting cajoled into performing in two drama productions his senior year. He got involved in a slew of other activities - including teaching German at two elementary schools. He graduated from First Colonial with a slightly less than perfect 3.99 average.

And he received a full-package scholarship to college.

He just started classes at Virginia Wesleyan College as the school's second Batten Scholar. Reichenmiller will get free tuition and room and board during his entire college stay. The scholarship also will include a free trip - which has not yet been scheduled - with Physicians for Peace, a medical group that performs humanitarian missions across the world.

Reichenmiller was chosen from among 200 applicants. Factors included his grades, an essay and the range of extracurricular activities, said Steve Bruce, associate dean of admissions. What impressed Bruce, among other things, was Reichenmiller's self-effacing manner.

``While he is an extremely gifted student, he considers himself just like any other incoming freshman,'' Bruce said. ``I just find Dominik to be very approachable, very humble, very easygoing.''

Reichenmiller had bounced around Germany as his father, Walter, took on a variety of military jobs. They moved here when he became the German national liaison representative with the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

Dominik's reaction was pure glee. ``In Germany, America is considered the promised land,'' he said.

What surprised him about American teens? One point is their less-than-worldly attitudes. ``German teens are more informed about world events and politics,'' he said. ``Here, people don't try as hard to stay informed.''

Another aspect of American life that struck the 17-year-old was the entrenched segregation.

``In Germany, we don't have as many black people, but the ones that live there are completely integrated,'' he said. In the United States, ``I noticed black and white people never in the same car together. In school, they never hung out together. I thought it was terrible. Segregation was banned in the '60s, but it's still there de facto.''

The Batten Scholarship, financed by Frank and Jane Batten, is designed to attract top-notch students to the college. Frank Batten is chairman of Landmark Communications, which publishes The Virginian-Pilot, and his wife, Jane, is chairwoman of Virginia Wesleyan's Board of Trustees.

Reichenmiller chose Virginia Wesleyan because his brother, Patrick, recently graduated from there and because he wanted a small, personal school. At Virginia Wesleyan, Reichenmiller plans to study business and Spanish. He's still not sure where he wants to live afterward.

This time, his transition is going a lot more smoothly. ``I've already met many of the faculty members,'' he said before classes started. ``I already feel at home there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Dominik Reichenmiller

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