October 24, 2019
Climate change, a growing world population, increasingly scarce resources – the global challenges of the 21st Century are complex. However, Mayssane Boudi won’t let that put her off. Quite the contrary, the 18-year-old set herself ambitious goals: one day, she wants to get involved in world politics and tackle the big problems of our time, one by one. Mayssane already created a basis for her career plans, as she started studying International Relations: Politics and History at Jacobs University in September 2019.
The native Moroccan took an early interest in complex social interrelationships. “Already as a little girl I was fascinated by the different ways people interact with each other in my home country Morocco”, Mayssane recalls. “I wanted to understand how the world, that surrounded me, worked.” The insatiable thirst for knowledge was not hidden from Mayssane's parents, who always positively encouraged the interests of their daughter.
The more Mayssane learned about her environment, the more social grievances stroke her attention. Not all of her peers were able to go to school just like her and not all parents had enough money to cater for their families on a regular basis. When she moved into her teenage years, she decided to help resolve these difficulties instead of just accepting them. Already at the age of 13, she volunteered for social causes by distributing food to the poor, supporting medical caravans in remote areas as well as teaching children, who otherwise would have been deprived of their access to education. “Bringing joy to other people makes me happy as well”, the student explains.
In the future, Mayssane also wants to face global problems, but there is still time. First, she plans to focus on her studies, which she took up at this year at Jacobs University. “For a long while, I was looking for an educational entity, in which I am not only perceived as a number, but valued as an individual. An acquaintance then told me about Jacobs University and I was immediately intrigued by the cultural diversity on campus as well as by the close relationship between students and their professors”, Mayssane says. The same month she was awarded with a scholarship by the Jacobs Alumni Association. Not only did she convince the selection board with her social commitment, but also with her outstanding school performance. “By receiving this scholarship, a dream came true for me”, the Moroccan rejoices.
So far, Mayssane is very comfortable on campus. Although it was not easy for her to leave her friends and family behind, she is still happy to have started the adventure. “Taking challenges like these strengthens your character. Now I have the chance to study in Germany while making friends with people from all over the world”, the scholarship holder says. It is not difficult for her to get in touch with fellow students, since Mayssane speaks four languages fluently: Arabic, French, Spanish and English of course. For some time now, she has also been learning German. “I would love to be able to communicate with every person on this earth”, Mayssane states with a big smile on her face. Maybe, this dream comes true one day too.
This text is part of the series "Faces of Jacobs", in which Jacobs University introduces students, alumni, professors and staff. Further episodes can be found at www.jacobs-university.de/faces