Isabella Johanna Schwyzer

What aspects of the University captured your interest and motivated you to study there? 

The fact that Jacobs University is a vivid, multicultural university with an amazing campus life motivated me to choose this university. In addition, Jacobs offered great study programs that exactly matched my interests. However, in Zurich, where I come from, we also have first-class, well-known universities, but we do not have campus-life like Jacobs can offer. This was the main reason why I decided to go to Jacobs University. I was looking for a place where I could meet new people from different backgrounds and learn from each other. The fact that every student lived on campus opened up countless opportunities to talk to each other, find and share common interests, be inspired by each other, have fun together, and form friendships that continue to this day.

Which elements of your studies brought you the most joy and fulfillment in your learning journey? 

Since we were only a few students in my program, we had a great exchange of ideas and were able to work closely together. The professors taught us almost "one-on-one", which was an amazing experience for me. This was a completely new experience for me, as I only knew large lectures with many students from my studies at the University of Zurich. Therefore, this close exchange between fellow students and professors gave me a lot of joy and fulfillment.

 How did campus life contribute to your development outside the classroom, and what is your best memory? Because Jacobs offered so many opportunities to meet people from all over the world, I learned to meet new people with an open mind and without prejudice. What is your career highlight thus far, and what are you most proud of as a young professional? I am very proud that my colleagues value my scientific work in the area of social-emotional and moral development. My professional highlights were certainly when I was able to present my work to other scientists, but also the fun and beautiful moments while collecting the data and the surprises and "aha" moments science brings. 

What advice would you give to current students at Constructor University? 

Be open-minded, make friends, socialize, enjoy campus-life, and learn as much as you can during your studies. All this will be of great benefit in your private and professional life after your studies. 

Your insights are highly valued as you help shape our students' paths to success. 

After graduating from Jacobs University, I gained professional experiences as a research assistant at Toronto University for a few months. The topic of social-emotional and moral development in childhood and adolescence had been part of my professional life for a long time, so I decided to do a Master's degree in "Development and Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence" at the University of Utrecht. After graduating, I worked as research assistant at Toronto University and Zurich University and published several scientific papers. I particularly enjoy exchanging ideas and knowledge with colleagues and also in taking part in conferences. This brings me to a fun fact from my time at Jacobs University. When I started my Bachelor's degree at Jacobs I didn't realize that I would have to give presentations to pass the programs. At the University of Zurich, where I studied before moving to Jacobs University, there were so many students that it was completely impossible to give presentations. So, when I arrived at Jacobs I didn't like public speaking, and I especially didn't like presenting in front of other people. But as I wrote, presenting scientific papers was an important part of studying at Jacobs University. Over time, I overcame my fear and presenting became more natural to me. Since I received great feedback on my presentation skills, I now found joy in presenting. This had a major impact on my future professional life and helped me advance my scientific work. Without this experience at Jacobs University, my professional life might have taken a different direction and I would never have discovered my presentation skills ;)As far as connections to other alumni are concerned, I am proud to say that I am an "Alumni Chapter Leader" of Zurich. We organize alumni meet-ups and events and so Jacobs still feels close to me even here in Zurich. In addition to the Alumni Association, I still have very good friends around the world, dating back to my time at Jacobs.