Katharina Justine Hartman

Tell us about your life.

As I grew up with a military background (I am known as an “Army brat,” if you will), with an American father and German mother, my life has been anything but monotonous. I was born in the US, in the great old state of Alabama. When I was 9 months old, my family moved to Bamberg, Germany. From the age of 4 to 12, I moved around quite often, living in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Washington D.C. Although I was living in Stuttgart, Germany during my high school years, I was attending a Department of Defense High School on base. Prior to transferring to Jacobs and receiving a BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, I studied for 2 years at Elon University, North Carolina pursuing a major in Biochemistry and minors in Statistics and Exercise Science.

How has your Jacobs education helped you personally and professionally?

Transferring to Jacobs was the best decision I could have possibly made in my life, and I do not mean this in a cheesy sense. Jacobs offers so many advantages both personally and professionally compared to any run-of-the-mill university. Personally, I was able to meet so many people stemming from all over the world, and had the opportunity to be exposed to many diverse cultures. I would consider myself a dabbler in the culinary arts; so, having the experience to cook authentic Burmese curries and Biryani, or inventing “fusion Polish and Burmese food” with a great group of people are memories that I will always cherish. At Jacobs, I was able to make lifelong friends. Sure, you can make lifelong friends at any university, but you can make friends from over 100 countries only at Jacobs.

I believe that my research background and strong theoretical knowledge obtained from my Bachelors studies at Jacobs served as a great foundation in the various laboratories where I conducted internships as part of my Masters studies. Because of this strong skillset that I received at Jacobs, all of the aforementioned research groups deemed me to be a valuable member, and wanted me to continue working there as a full-time employee after my Master’s studies. The research experience at Jacobs enabled me to enrich my ability to collect scientific data individually, as well as sharing and discussing innovative ideas with other team members. Being that Jacobs is an international university, the research environment proved to be very stimulating because I had the opportunity to learn from the insights across diverse backgrounds.

What did Jacobs do for you that you were not expecting?

Honestly, to keep it short and sweet, without my Jacobs education, I do not think I would be where I am now in the research world in terms of receiving substantial internship/job offers.

A word to prospective students

What you will experience at JU will be with you forever, and you will be amazed at how amazing they will turn out to be… lessons for life, friends for life, and memories for life. It’s a place that inspires you to figure out, and be who you want to be.