When did you decide to study and what influenced that decision?
In fact, science has always excited me - both the STEM subjects and the humanities. I completed my mandatory school internships at Justus Liebig University in Giessen and also attended philosophy and physics lecture series there during my high school years. That's why I quickly decided that I wanted to study physics after graduating from high school. The more difficult question was rather "What?", since I naturally lacked role models in my family. At the same time, I was torn between my fascination with the natural sciences, especially the life sciences, and philosophical reflection on the world. I had to work this out with myself, even though the question from family members, "And what do you do with that?", certainly tended to advise me towards the natural sciences - although my choice of "biotechnology" then also led to a similar reaction. The fact that it was ultimately possible to study both was due to the fact that I chose where to study. At the TU Darmstadt, there is a master's program in "Technology and Philosophy", which is particularly interesting for students who have previously studied a STEM subject (similar to the KTW program at the TU Braunschweig). Today, I see myself more in the humanities, but I am very happy to also have some understanding and basic knowledge of the STEM subjects.
In what situations did you become aware that you were a first-time university graduate?
I can't say exactly what made me aware of it, but it quickly became clear to me that there is a certain simultaneity of different life realities at universities. Perhaps it was just such situations, such as my anxiety and hope at the beginning of my studies that the BAföG notice and the first money would soon arrive before my savings from my civilian service were exhausted. While others at the first student parties talked about their new apartment, which their parents had bought for them at the place of study: For me as a working-class child, completely utopian. In addition, there was a lack of guidance that a related person with university experience can give you, answers to questions such as: What should one pay attention to? What makes strategic sense in the curricula? Which institutions at a university can help one? Who can also take a look at a student research project? However, I already had to deal with the latter at a certain point in my school career. It is also helpful to know that other fellow students have the same problems and that you can help each other.
From today's perspective, what message would you give your student self?
"Don't give up!" (if you like it dancey and have learned to dance on your own "suffering", feel free to sing Sia "Never give up" at this point). May sound simple, but this long road through exams, just like with things that happen to you outside the university context, sometimes make you want to give up. This is certainly not a unique feature of First Generation Students, but a component of any academic career - even still in the subsequent precarious employment at universities (keyword #IamHanna). But looking back on this rocky road, I would want to complete large parts of the route again in exactly the same way.
What ideas do you have for improving equal opportunities for first generation students?
In addition to many measures that could certainly be implemented in the study programs in an advisory capacity, or the development or use of networks that already exist, I personally find visibility important, as this interview also attempts to create. It takes more than promises of advancement and little encouraging statistics, but contact with people who can give hope to others with their story and show that it is possible. It's okay to fail at it, but it's not okay to not have dared because you think an academic path isn't mapped out. Perhaps this also requires literary works, such as those that already exist in France with Didier Eribon's "Return to Rheims" or the books of Édouard Louis. Autobiographical literature that illustrates paths already taken and also shows the hurdles that have to be overcome in life.