Go explore!
Insights by our working student Kathrin: What she learned from taking detours instead of chosing the fast lane.
I’ve been part of the Green Alley Award team as a working student for more than a year now. After finishing my Master’s programme, I have reached a turning point again: the jump into my professional life. Looking back at my university time I realize that I haven’t chosen the fastest lane towards the point where I am now – instead of 5 years for completing a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, it took me almost 8 years! However, I don’t feel like I wasted my time – the contrary: I took some turns, extra ways, spent time traveling and gaining work experience. Just two examples:
After school I didn’t want to go straight to university or start an apprenticeship. Instead, I went abroad to Peru and did an internship in a primary school. With a very basic knowledge of Spanish, I was first totally overwhelmed by the language barriers I encountered but was then able to learn and adapt very quickly and enjoyed the experience so much that it was very hard for me to go back to Germany after a few months.
During my Bachelor’s degree I decided to do Erasmus in the UK. I knew this wouldn’t lead to a faster completion of my studies, because many of the courses would not be recognized at my home university. I still decided to do so for my own development and for gaining new experiences. In the UK I wanted to get in touch with locals and not just stay in my Erasmus bubble. So, I joined various societies and clubs. When I read “caving” on the promotional sign of one society, I imagined something similar to rock climbing and decided to give it a go. However, when we reached the little shed in the Peak District National Park and saw the massive, knee-high wellies waiting for us in the hall, I became more skeptical about my initial guess. In the end it turned out that “caving” signifies crawling through caves and even swimming in ice cold water in complete darkness. An experience, which activated a claustrophobia in me that I didn’t even know I had.
I believe that going new ways and trying out things is also important for startup founders. My twists and turns have brought me to where I am now. They contributed to my choice of degree because I discovered my passion for Spanish and Latin America in school and then chose to follow this as a side subject in my studies. Diving in the black and cold Peak Cavern water, I realized that I should probably never become a cave scientist. Trying out things might be a bit scary sometimes, but always staying in the same well-known comfort-zone, in contrast, is not very inspiring. Founders are often not just born with a great idea or “chosen” to start their own business. Being open to experience, however, can lead people to groundbreaking ideas and innovations.
All of the turns I chose to do, led me somewhere and made me realize important things about myself. I don’t know what the future holds for me or where exactly my path will guide me to. But I am open to explore and try out things and who knows, maybe I will also stumble about a great new opportunity?