Anna Ladyshenski

What did you search for and find here at Jacobs University?

I think I searched for a very strong community spirit, and this is what I really found, because the universities in Germany that I knew before Jacobs, where I had a look at, for instance, in Hamburg, my almost-hometown, they are big, they are a bit anonymous.

I remember my graduation day, and I saw people crying, and I saw myself crying, because I was in a way so happy, but also so sad to leave this place. Happy about all the achievements that we’ve made together, but sad about leaving all the wonderful people behind. What makes me happy is really that the community spirit is still there. So even as an alumni, I regularly come to Jacobs every year to celebrate our alumni meetings. What we also do is we meet up in Hamburg, or whenever I go abroad, I can just write on Facebook “who’s around?”, and there’s always someone whom you can talk to, and who can help you out if you have an issue.

What were the strengths of your major?

My major was Integrated Social Sciences and I personally think the strength was the diversity of things that I got to know, because it was not just psychology, it was not just economics, it was a mix of things. So I learned to look at the things in a holistic way, to not just tackle a problem from one side, but to see different perspectives. This is so important in your career life later on, because things have to be dealt with from different perspectives.

So, that’s the major thing, and the second one is just the internationality, because I wanted to study always, a bit like, abroad, but I didn’t want to be too far away from home, and Jacobs, for me was the perfect choice, because then I can study almost close to home, and still have this international feeling.