International students enrich the research and culture of a university. The DAAD recognizes this enrichment by providing funds to award an annual prize to outstanding foreign students.
This year, the University of Stuttgart’s International Office selected Candy Adusei. Apart from completing her master’s degree in English and American Studies, she also volunteered for the PowerST project, an initiative aimed to support first generation students.
What was your experience studying the English and American Studies master’s program here at the University of Stuttgart?
I did my bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English at the University of Ghana. I had the foundation in English, and I decided to take it a step further. So, I started reading and found out about Prof. Titus von der Malsburg, who is known in the field of Cognitive Linguistics, and I thought: I could study how the brain processes language. How cool is that? I applied to the University of Stuttgart because of the faculty so that I could work with Titus and his team.
Every single minute of the program was amazing. I feel lucky that I got to work with such great minds. The best part about it was that the faculty pushed me to get better. Whenever I went to them with a problem, they told me: You can fix this. These are the resources that could help you, I want you to come back to me with a solution. They enabled us to be bolder, to be brighter. Thanks to them, I’m a well-rounded person.
Around the time I was writing my thesis, I found out that I was pregnant. This is where my faculty shone: Everyone was very supportive, especially when my baby threatened to come prematurely in the second trimester. My professors took time to meet with me and offer their support. Thanks to them, I was able to present my thesis at the Goethe University in Frankfurt.
What was it like adjusting to life in Stuttgart?
I came to Stuttgart in April, in the so-called summer semester – and on my first day here, it snowed heavily. I thought: is this what summer is like in Germany? But now I’ve come to understand that April will just do whatever it wants. My country is warm all year round, so I experienced my first winter here in Germany.
The food was also a learning curve. I come from a place where everything is spicy, but now I’ve been “germanized” so much from the Mensa and everywhere else that I can’t deal with spicy food so much anymore.
But those things were not terrible at all because I had a lot of support from the International Office. They really helped me to acclimatize and to integrate into the university society. I welcomed all the cultural shock: I played “flunkyball” and had many fun experiences.
Apart from your studies you also did volunteer work, especially for the PowerST Project. This initiative helps first-generation students. What did you do, and why did this work matter to you?
Before I started working in the PowerST Project, I had already been working in my department as a mentor for the first year and master’s students. I sometimes picked them up from the airport and brought them to their homes. Working this job, I realized that there was more at stake for first-generation students. Whenever they were faced with hardship, they didn’t have people back at home who could understand what they were going through. I am a first-generation student myself, so I know what that feels like.
I reached out to the organizers and told them I wanted to voluntarily be a part of the initiative as I had already been in contact with first-gen students at the University of Stuttgart. That is how I joined the PowerST project.
We were able to include a question in the student’s application asking if they were fist-generation students. From that, we got a list of all first-generation students at the university. I organized a casual orientation session. We then reached out to professors who had also been first-generation students across all faculties, so that the students could talk to them and ask them questions. After that, we worked as a help center that forwarded the complaints and problems of the students to the appropriate departments.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to volunteer while studying full-time?
Make sure that whatever you’re doing volunteer-wise is not putting you into a tough place mentally. See it as something to enrich yourself and to make you happier. Also, think of yourself, of what you can do and don’t do more than you can handle. This way, volunteering will remain a positive experience.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would love to do a PhD. Currently, this is not quite possible, because my department is lacking the funding. So, I have been looking at other universities. However, most of them do joint programs with other countries and based on my residence permit, I am unable to travel out of Germany for too long. My plan B is to go into admin work, like project management or working as an administrative assistant. I believe all my experiences have sharpened my skills in planning, organizing and scheduling. I am still drawn towards research – even if it doesn’t work out now, I will find my way back to academia in the future.
The Online Educa Berlin (OEB) selected Adusei for the “30 under 30” program, which recognizes young professionals who embody open, sustainable and inclusive learning in their work.
First generation students at the University of Stuttgart can find support with the PowerST project.