Alumni Stories

From student to staff: a decade at uni.lu

• University of Luxembourg • Season 1 • Episode 1

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 53:07

When Ricarda Leidinger attended a student fair in Saarbrücken a decade ago, she had no idea that chance encounter would shape her entire future. Uncertain about her path after high school, this German student from Saarland found herself drawn to the University of Luxembourg's
Bachelor en Cultures Européennes, which perfectly combined her love of languages and humanities.

Ricarda takes us through her remarkable journey from hesitant first-year student to confident university administrator. Her story beautifully illustrates how stepping outside comfort zones—particularly with languages—can transform both personal and professional development. Initially doubting her French abilities, Ricarda chose the German track of her program, only to gradually discover that perfect language skills aren't necessary for meaningful communication and growth.

---

Ricarda's recommandations 

What she studied : Bachelor en Cultures Européennes – Germanistik - FHSE I Uni.lu

If you want to get in touch with Ricarda, please feel free to contact her here 

Can you find Ricarda on this video of the 2015 Open Day. 

Interested in signing up for the Bachelor en Cultures Européennes?

Visit the website : bce.uni.lu

If you have any specific questions regarding this Bachelor, please contact: bce.office@uni.lu

---

Welcome to Alumni Stories

Masti

Hello and welcome to Alumni Stories, a podcast brought to you by the University of Luxembourg. I'm your host, messi. Let me give you an idea of what Alumni Stories is all about. Whether you've studied here before, or you're curious and consider pursuing your studies at the University of Luxembourg, or just want to listen to interesting people, whatever it might be, you're at the right place. I know it sounds forward, but let me break it down for you. Every episode will star a former student who finished your degrees and has set a foot into the working world, or, as I like to call it, the grown-up life. We'll get a glimpse of each individual their personal ups and downs, their survival strategies, the recipe to balance uni and life, and much more. So if you're, like me, someone who's been looking for the right study program but hasn't been able to find the right fit yet, call this your lucky day, because this podcast is made for you. So, without any further ado, let's dive into today's episode.

Meet Ricarda: From Germany to Luxembourg

Masti

Today, we have our very first, and therefore very special, guest on the Alumni Stories. Not only did she start her journey at the University of Luxembourg 10 years ago, in the winter of 2015, but she chose to stay and work here after graduating, too. She is now responsible for the administration of several study programs within the university. There are no secrets to her, since she likes to keep her office's door open to anyone. Therefore, she lives by the motto that we all should embrace our potential by keeping our arms, eyes and hearts open to grasp for the opportunities that come our way. In this episode, she'll tell us why she stayed at the university, how she chose her study program and what it was like to leave her hometown in Saarland, Germany, to start something completely new. Please welcome Ricarda Leidinger.

Masti

Hello Ricarda, thank you for being here today.

Ricarda

Thank you for inviting me.

Masti

I would like you to introduce yourself in your own words for our audience.

Ricarda

My name is Ricarda, I'm 28 years old and I'm working as a Study Program Administrator of the University of Luxembourg. I graduated from the Bachelor of Cultures Européennes in 2018 and did a three national master program in German studies, which I finished in 2021.

Masti

So you mentioned you're 28, you finished your things and your degrees not all too long ago and you studied here, both master and bachelor, at the University of Luxembourg.

Ricarda

Yes, so I did the bachelor in Cultures Européennes here at the University of Luxembourg and made an Erasmus semester at the University of Vienna, and the master program was a three national master program, so which is proposed between the University of Luxembourg, Universität des Saarlandes and Université de Lorraine.

Masti

You finished all of these things, you went to Vienna and afterwards you decided to come back to the University of Luxembourg. How come?

Ricarda

Yeah, actually you would call me in German a "land eye. When I graduated from high school, I always thought that I want to go into a big city to study. I chose Luxembourg because I wanted to stay not too close from my family but also wanted to discover another country, which was the perfect choice for me to choose the University of Luxembourg. It's another country, you speak so many other languages but it's not far from the family. The experience to live in a big city I did not have, so I decided to do my Erasmus in Vienna. I discovered the big city life and there were some things I really liked about, for example going to the opera. I did it once a week and I enjoyed it very much. But inside of me, I found out that I'm not a big city girl, which was also good to know. I could try it and I figured out it's not really my thing. Which is why I came back to Luxembourg and decided to do a master's program also here. But I wanted also to focus on the border regions, on the aspect of living in the greater region, which this three national master program was perfect for.

Masti

You finished your master's and you started working here, or how did everything fall into place?

Ricarda

As a student, I already used to work for the university. When I did my bachelor program, I supported a doctoral project about Moselfränkisch. The area I'm coming from we speak a dialect which is Moselfränkisch, so I was helpful, I think, for this project. After I finished this job during my bachelor program, I started a Hiwi position in the Bachelor of Cultures Européennes in the coordination of the study program. Then, I finished my studies, there was a vacancy and that's how I came into my job.

Student Life and student Jobs

Masti

Okay, so a Hiwi job is, like it says, a job as a student that you can take during your studies, and you did two while studying. How is that like? Are you able to get a job like that easily, and are you paid during that job?

Ricarda

Yeah, actually I saw the job posting on the students corner on Moodle where all of the students are enrolled. So I handed in my CV and my motivation letter and we had a discussion about the job and about also my expectations. And, yes of course, you get paid as a student and that also helped me to pursue my studies because it was really helpful to me not only for my studies themselves but also, of course, financially.

Masti

You have to explain it a little further, because how would a job help you with studying?

Ricarda

When I used to work for the doctoral project, I have found out about some particularities of the Luxembourgish language and I wanted to discover more and I was able to do so in my bachelor thesis. So actually, through my job at the university, I got the topic for my bachelor thesis and I saw how language linguistic science is working on the field, which is very interesting to see. If I would not have done the job, I would have never had the opportunity to get to know all of these things. Also, working with doctoral students can be very helpful in that line.

Masti

Do you think that the Hiwi jobs were good on your applications and your cv in general - being able to say, "I did this job here and stuff like that for later on in your job life?

Ricarda

I think so because it shows that you're really involved in the university, in your field of studies - depending on your job - and it shows that you can already reclaim some experience in different fields. I think so that it's really helpful for students and also for the CV.

Masti

And in your current position, would you say that Hiwi jobs jobs are kind of helpful now, looking back at it?

Ricarda

Yeah, I got to know a lot of people in those jobs and my second Hiwi job led me actually to my current position.

Masti

What was your second Hiwi job?

Ricarda

It was in the Study Program Administration of the Bachelor of Cultures Européennes and that was my first job. I started as a Study Program Specialist of this program and that's how I came into the job market, I would say.

Masti

So you kind of grew into the shoes of your current position, in a way.

Ricarda

Yes, I would say so, yeah.

Masti

Okay, I think that's very cool. By having that set aside, are you able to say that you wanted this job? Is it something that you aimed for, or is it something that really just kind of "'m here and it just happens.

Ricarda

It just happens, I would say. I'm very grateful for the opportunities I were given. Also, I'm a little proud that I used the doors that opened, which makes me makes me a little proud.

Masti

Honestly, coming from a younger perspective and not knowing what you want to do, it's hard to go through a door - because we're speaking metaphorically right now - and to say "okay, I will grasp the chances that come my way. I think it's something that you have to be brave for and I think you don't realize it when you're young. I feel like things are too fast.

Ricarda

That's totally true. When I came to Luxembourg, I knew no one and I had to use the open doors to make my journey through my student life at the university and academically. And now, I always use the open doors. You have to be a little brave when you move into another country and to use all of the opportunities that open up, that show up.

Campus life in Belval

Masti

And you mentioned student life, that's the next thing we're going to tackle. I really want to know what it was like as a student here at the university, and especially when you're in the BCE.

Ricarda

hat's in 2015, we were the first students that arrived on Belval campus and I would say student life was really small at that time. But I think also this was an opportunity. I was super lucky to have a place in the student residence, a room, and we had to get to know each other and to connect with each other to have a kind of student life. We did cooking sessions, we went to theaters, to clubs. We did everything together and it was really a community that in the student residence that grew up.

Masti

But I'm wondering is that more because of your accommodation or is that because of the study program? Were you able to have this kind of flourishing friendship situation with people from your study program? Or is it more the accommodation you're talking about?

Ricarda

At first it was the accommodation, I have to say. It took a little to integrate in the program, there were a lot of Luxembourgish students that knew each other from high school and I came into this program and into those relationships, friendships, that were already born. So it took me some time. I made friends in the accommodation and after some time it opened up. We had a good relationship because we also had those excursions we did within the study program.

Masti

What does that mean exactly?

Ricarda

We did some field trips, for example for the German studies. We did a trip to Weimar, for example, to visit Erasmus universities and get to know them a little. It was super helpful and we bonded really in those field trips.

Masti

Were you hesitant before applying here at the university for the BCE at the Belval campus? Because it was new students arriving there, so everything was really not set yet and you just wanted to come here? How did that happen?

Ricarda

So I met the university actually on a student fair in Saarbrücken and they advised me to come to discover the university at the Open Day, on Belval campus. And it was the first Open Day here in Belval. And I thought the program sounds so interesting to me because it combines so many fields I'm interested in and I'm good in. And then, we discovered with the high school a lot of fairs and also the universities of the greater region, for example in Saarbrücken, in Trier too I think. When I came to the Open Day here in Belval Campus, I was amazed by the buildings, by the architecture. I know that some people don't like the architecture of Belval Campus and they find it very gray, not green enough; but I have to say it was so modern, I was thrilled about it.

Masti

I'm wondering did it look the same way it does today, 10 years ago?

Ricarda

We parked at the CFL parking of the train station.

Masti

Is it like 10 minutes away?

Ricarda

It's 10 minutes away and I got the whole way from the train station to the Maison du Savoir. Of course, I think not all of the buildings have been set up at that time. When I got my way through Belval Campus and I saw the Maison du Savoir and I entered it, I had no words for it. Often when you study humanities, I would say the buildings are not always the best buildings, they're not always equipped with the best equipment.

Masti

Yeah, definitely, but this time it was different when you came here, it seemed.

Ricarda

Yeah, it was so different, it was so modern, it was something new and I felt amazed and I wanted so bad to study there. And I know on YouTube somewhere, there's a video of the Open Day 2015 and I know that there's a little clip of me and I was not aware of it, not at all. And a friend of mine discovered it some years ago and said well, that's you in this video and I said, "yes, that was my first time here,

Masti

If you want to see Ricarda 10 years ago, please type in Open Day 2015 onto YouTube and you will find her in a clip.

Ricarda

Yes, a young Ricarda, a very young Ricarda.

Masti

But see, very young Ricarda decided to come here because the option seems so versatile and that's something that catches your attention, right?

Ricarda

then

Masti

So then, you applied here and you got in with your motivational letter, no?

Ricarda

No, at that time we had not yet the motivational letter.

Masti

Oh really?

Navigating the application challenge

Ricarda

Actually, I don't remember that much. It's kind of funny because we already had the admission portal and I did not know that we could switch it to another language. And it showed up in French and I was lost with it.

Masti

Did you know French before coming here?

Ricarda

Yeah, I did but I don't know, it was so complicated. "Bac I have no idea what this means, and I asked a friend that was French to help me out with this because I were not able to fill this form in. And, he helped me and I was very happy to send everything out. Something I was a little bit astonished about is that I have to ask the equivalence for a German Abitur from the Luxembourgish ministry, because I thought we're living in Europe and

Masti

I would have thought the same actually. I would have thought it was the same thing.

Ricarda

Yeah, I thought we're living in Europe and I don't have to have an equivalence because it's Luxembourg and I'm German. And at this point I think, I realized that Luxembourg, our neighboring country, is really another country. At that point I realized that it, and it took so long to get this equivalence. And the deadline was approaching and approaching. Two days before the deadline I was driving to the post office to ask if they have a letter for me and they did not have a letter. And I called the ministry and they said "it's on its way. You should already have received it.

Ricarda

One day later I got it by express and then it was just one day left to apply. I took my equivalents and everything I needed for the application and drove to Limpertsberg to hand my application in. And there was a person at the reception and he said "the student officers are there. Do you want to hand it in, like personally? And I said "no, no, no, no. I'm too stressed for this now. Please take it and deliver it to the study program, take it". And then I got my exception letter and I was

Masti

Very thrilled, probably.

Ricarda

I was thrilled, yes. Yeah But but then I had the housing problematic, because I really wanted to live on campus. too To to have a real student experience. And I went there with a friend and we went to the student housing office and I asked there for the. and I was very late and there were not that much options. and I was a little sad about it because they told me my chances are not very good. But in end, end everything worked out and I got my room and a student residence Belval Belvoir campus.

Masti

that just by chance that you got the room?

Ricarda

I think so, yeah, because I was really late. I missed the deadline because I informed myself not very good in the beginning. I think it was really by chance that I got the room.

Masti

I think it's because you kept your doors open and you grasped for the opportunity. That's why you got the accommodation. I think that's the actual thing around here. I think I didn't ask that before but why did you choose Germanistik in the first place?

Ricarda

Because I'm German, I have to admit. German is my first language. I think I was too afraid to apply for the French track because I thought my French would never be good enough. Same for the English track. I had to make a choice in high school I decided to go for French and Spanish. And I had to abandon English for this so I thought my English is too bad. My French is too bad too, so I will get to Germanistik because that's my first language. History was also interesting for me, but it's bilingual and I thought it's French-German. A s I said, I thought my French would never be good enough to follow studies in French.

Masti

Okay, understandable.

Ricarda

Which I did afterwards in the BCE actually. I n the BCE, you have your courses of your specialization and you have the courses from the Cultures Européennes track. And there I had French courses or courses in French.

Masti

And you were comfortable with them? You able to go there and be like, "okay, my French is enough and actually better than I expected.

Ricarda

This was maybe the biggest learning I made in my 10 years in Luxembourg, that you can make mistakes in a language, and language is something to communicate. You use it to communicate with others. If you make mistakes it doesn't matter, as long as the other person in front of you understands what you're saying. Y ou don't have to be perfect in all of the languages. I mean, I learned Luxembourgish too. Everyone can hear in any language that I'm German, but it doesn't matter at all.

Masti

Yeah, that's true. Did you learn Luxembourgish throughout the program? How did you end up learning Luxembourgish too?

Ricarda

So I got in contact with Luxembourgish through my first Hiwi job, again. And I visited a summer school at the university here, a summer school for Luxembourgish. And after thought I thin I can also profit from my skills and my home dialect and can mix it up to get to learn Luxembourgish. But also because of my partner, who is Luxembourgish too, which is why I'm always in contact with Luxembourgish. And this is something also during my studies through my colleagues of the Bachelor of Cultures Européennes, that were mostly Luxembourgers. Because I got in contact with many Luxembourgish people, it came naturally in a way.

Masti

Yeah, I can definitely see that. So we talked about languages and, for me, let's say I only speak German and English; but French and Luxembourgish are something that are like a big question mark to me. Is it okay that I may not be fluent in French or may not know anything about Luxembourgish?

Ricarda

For Luxembourgish, I would say no, you don't need knowledge in Luxembourgish to get through it. As I said, if you're curious about it, it will come on a way naturally and if you're German speaking, that's much more easier than for other languages. I would say French is a big atout. I would say, for your daily life in Luxembourg, it's easier if you speak a little French. It doesn't have to be perfect as I said; my French is not perfect too, but it can make some things easier. Knowledge of Luxembourgish makes things easier too, but I think you can get through it without the knowledge of French and Luxembourgish. But yeah, it's always better.

Masti

How would you overall describe the BCE study program in your own words, just quickly?

Ricarda

It's interdisciplinary and multilingual that are really the two, I would say, challenges. It's not always easy but it's very important for this program. You make a lot of learnings through this interdisciplinarity and multilingualism.

Masti

So you picked Germanistik as your study program, but Germanistik is not the first thing that most people think of as a study program. So did you have any prior intention to that? Or did you have a specific job in mind? Or how come you came here to start with the BCE in Germanistik?

Ricarda

So, as I said, I learned about the study program at the student fair in Saarbrücken and I really was not motivated to go there. But our teacher, she forced us, which was very good. So I went there and the study program specialist that was sitting there and advising people, I went there because I thought it might be interesting to go there because I had no clue what to do after my high school. I went there and she said, "what do you like in high school? And I was. I like German, I like history, I like religion - because in Germany you have religion in some Länder - But I don't know Religion, french, I really like French, I... really like English, I like Spanish, I like "it And she said, okay, so it seems like you're the perfect student "what our program. and I was like what, program,? And she explained me the program that you have a specialization but you have courses from And I was, oh my gosh, that's everything I like and ! are the things I'm good in.

Ricarda

was at a study advisor and he asked me okay, what are you going to "what your life after high school? What do you want to become? And I had no idea. And I told him I won't do anything, but no, mathematics would not at all. Yeah and so I went to So she advised me to have a look, look at the program. that was perfect for and That was all combining everything me, that to do.

Ricarda

And I was thinking about becoming a teacher in Germany, because that's a normal thing they advise you to do. If you say you like languages, okay, become a teacher. But I was never really into the job. I could not see me as a teacher in school. I thought that in Germany I can study other programs but what am I going to do with Germanistik in Germany? I have no idea. And then Luxembourg was popping up and I never had like the wish of becoming something special, like a teacher or like a profession. So that was very good because you have so many options you can take. You have courses about media, you have courses about a lot of things; and you learn how to use languages, you learn how to interact with other programs and other fields of study, and this is something I really liked.

Masti

Yeah, I didn't even realize that you have the same same role as the person that advised you to go here. And you see how one little decision by one person can make such a big difference. The butterfly effect, some call it. Now that you have the same kind of position, how does it feel like to be in those shoes right now?

Ricarda

This is so true. We now have the open day in March and sometimes I get a little emotional when I see all of the high school students coming to the university asking questions. I really feel that vibe still and I see myself sometimes like in the video. I see myself there asking questions and it's like a throwback. That are the moments I really love my job because we get in touch with people, we show what we are offering and get in touch with younger people. And maybe, one day, I can also be the butterfly for someone.

Masti

Sometimes it's so insignificant, in the moment, for someone just having a conversation but, later on, it can have so much meaning for you. For example, you being emotional saying "now that I look back and I have these students here, it's like I see myself in them again.

Masti

And to come back to the studies because this is also very important. If I were to register here for the uni and for the BCE, I would like to know how classes are like. What are the classes in size like?

Ricarda

It depends on the course in your specialization. Normally, it's organized in seminars because it's more easy to have discussions about literature, language, the topics of the course. And you have also lectures, but this is more in those interdisciplinary courses in the Cultures Européennes - for example, the initiations in history, philosophy - like the big courses where everyone gets the same knowledge basically. This is organized in lectures. I have to admit I really love lectures, still today. I love sitting there with my opinion and my thoughts about subjects and I really love to listen to lectures.

Masti

Did I get that right - you may have a course but you will have them interfere into each other. So you might have philosophy students, you might have history students, and you might have Germanistik students, all together and they have a discussion?

Ricarda

Yes

Ricarda

When I applied for the program, there was this big word interdisciplinarity, and I had no clue what that means actually, because I've never been in touch with this word or this concept, because in school you have your subject, okay, now you have German class and you do German class, but what that really means, this interdisciplinarity, that's something you really learn in culture-européenne classes and I think this is something a very important learning also for graduates of the program or students of the program to communicate with each other, to have discussions about something, to have different views, and this is something that interdisciplinarity can achieve. And this is, yeah, living interdisciplinarity in the Bachelor in Culture Européenne.

Masti

Do you think you also live interdisciplinary at the moment? So were you able to have that experience back then and it shaped you. So now, when you're doing your job, you feel you feel like, okay, this still has an effect on the way I pursue things.

Ricarda

I would say so. I mean, in our job, we get in touch with a lot of people, with professors, colleagues, students, external experts too and this is an important learning we can take out of it, but not just in my professional life, but also in my personal life. How can I accept other opinions, other views of something? This is a challenge we are all facing, and it's not always easy. It's still not easy, but I think this is something which has a lot of future, especially when we look at political situations at the moment. I think this is really something we can learn from and that we have to push to push.

Masti

You were able to grow during your studies as a person because you were. You got the tools. Let's say to to um, what is the right way to put this? To form your own opinions and be able to discuss them with others?

Ricarda

yes, and and um. You can also say this this is something very important for me. You don't have to have always an opinion. It takes time to get opinions about different things and, instead of immediately fighting against something or be for something, you can take your time and think about it and say, ok, I'm not yet ready for this, I don't have yet an opinion about it. I have to get further into it and I will make it up.

Masti

Is that something you learned in your studies? Because it feels like you've been in that particular situation and therefore you started having this mindset.

Ricarda

Yes, I think so. So also in discussions with my partner, sometimes something pops up um in um, when we're talking about some political issues, for example, and then I can say I cannot discuss about this because I don't, I have no opinion about it yet I I have to think about it. Yet I have to think about it. It's not, it's not always easy to have um to have opinions. Opinions is work.

Masti

You have to work on opinions and I mean these things are very valuable and if you think about it, by chance you came here and did you ever expect to come that far? So now, looking back, you're like, oh is did that? All of this happened and it's your 10th year anniversary. We cannot forget about it.

Ricarda

So how does that? You would really like to forget about it. Um, I have no idea where, where those 10 years are gone. Um, I still have a very bond connection to my younger self. I've been at this point, um, and I feel like I don't know. She's like a like, like a friend I have and I see her sometimes walking side by side with me and we are wondering about some things. But we are very happy that things happened like they did, but we never expected this.

Masti

Is there something that sticks with both of you, the young ricarda and the ricarda we have now, and you're still young. That's not what I mean to say, but with that difference of time, is there something that you really memorized throughout the years, something that happened maybe even in your studies too? I?

Ricarda

have to think about this. It's not an easy question. I don't think there's one specific thing. There was so much going on in these 10 years. It was a riot.

Embracing opportunities

Ricarda

Agnes Brüm, the study director, is always saying challenge yourself with the languages we offer in the program. And yeah, in the beginning, really I was. I was not sure if this, if I could cope with all of those languages, I have to say, especially with with French, because I was picking a course in the first semester about the history of French language and it was super hard to to get through this course and I also I skipped it because it was too too much for me and that scared me at some point because I thought, oh, my god, my, my French is way too bad. I cannot take other courses in French. And it was Agnès saying that we should challenge ourselves with the languages and I thought, okay, yeah, let's try it once again.

Ricarda

I will take another course in French and at that course it worked because I was as I said. I have overgone this perfection thing. I knew I could never speak perfect French or nearly perfect French as Luxembourgers, for example, do. Yeah, and I just took the course and it was fine. Also, I could. I could take the exam in German, but the course was in French, so that helped me too, because I knew I just have to learn um in French and then write it down in German.

Masti

Is that a thing you can generally do?

Ricarda

In the BCE yes.

Ricarda

Of course it's not in your specialization. You have to write your exams in the language you take your courses, but in the Kultur Europäen. Yes, if you take a course in English history for, for example, you can take the exam, then in German, yeah, because it's. I think it's really about challenging the students and to encourage them to get out of the comfort zone, to yeah, to take courses, interdisciplinary courses, from other specializations I feel like, especially when you're young, you'll take things not as you will, maybe take things more personal or you have more of a perfectionism to to things.

Masti

So maybe kind of slow down on that and be okay. Let's breathe in, breathe out. I can, I can do it. There's no hurry, there's no pressure, because it's more in your head.

Ricarda

Yes, yes, this is true. I forced myself to make the BCE in six semesters. It was really hard, I have to admit, but I made it and that was something I was proud of back then. But now I would say you shouldn't have put on so much pressure on yourself because, yeah, it was unnecessary. And I think if you go away from this pressure, then you have also more time to to discover the program more and the more the the positive things of the program, which is interdisciplinarity and all of those things. You can enjoy them much more if you take out the pressure.

Masti

um, but of course it's, it's always hard I'm just wondering, because it's always easier said than done. So you said okay, agnes gave you, gave you these words, um, saying okay, you have to just try things out. Um. But then how did you convince yourself to get to that point? Because it's always easier to not go for it and say like oh no, I'm bad at this and I cannot do it. But then how did you motivate yourself to stick to to your plan and say okay, I will get get this bce done in six semesters and there's nothing that can stop me here?

Ricarda

Maybe my colleagues from the student residence. So the student residence was so multilingual and multicultural. We had so many nationalities in the student residence, so many languages spoken at this residence and that was maybe a point. I got to know an Erasmus student from Italy. She's still my friend now. She used to live in a student residence the same as me, and she was struggling at the beginning with all of the languages but she she made her way through it so confident and I thought, okay, there's something I have missed. I have to go back and see where I can start to build this confidence on myself and, uh, yeah, maybe this and uh, where did you start exactly?

Ricarda

yeah I thought, um, so this, uh, this multicultural, multilingual environment inspired me and I thought, okay, I have the opportunity in in my study program too and I should, I should use it and I should use also the knowledge on the environment I got to know at the student residence in my studies. And then I thought, okay, let's do this French course and practicing is exactly the thing. If you're afraid and don't talk to people because you think, oh, my French is too bad, can we switch to English? No, we cannot Just challenge yourself and accept that you have difficulties in finding words or it was not grammatically correct what you just said.

Ricarda

Just accept that and go into speaking the language, conversations with others. That's how you really learn the language and that was something. This is something no one can teach you, even not your teacher in school. You have to be open and to practice really the language with colleagues with friends and yeah, this is an opportunity we have in Luxembourg and to practice really the language with colleagues with friends and, yeah, this is an opportunity we have in Luxembourg. Even if it's frightening sometimes, we have to try to accept the situation and to get in touch with other people to practice it.

Masti

By saying that nowadays, if you face a struggle or a difficulty, do you think that this mindset, which is reinforcing you, really saying okay instead of giving up on things so easily? I will take this as my personal challenge. Do you think this is something that the BCA shaped you?

Ricarda

in. I think so. Yes, um, for example, when I, when I have a problem at work and it's a real problem and I I cannot find a way out, I know that there is a way we always have the possibility to to solve the problem. There's it's. There is no problem we cannot solve. And yeah, maybe this is something I learned of the BCE. Yeah, when I think about it, yeah, maybe.

Masti

So you mentioned that you're still in contact with your Italian friend. So are there also other people you met throughout your journey here at the university? You're still in contact with.

Ricarda

I just wanted to say no, but now, thinking about the question, I realize that yes, I do. I have some very close friends. That I don't align anymore with the university, but yes, of course I have a very close friend. I used to live next door at the student residence. At this time I met my partner too. Yeah, and yeah, I have so many things on my mind that's going on, but I have to admit I think so. The end of your 20s, beginning of your 30s, is such a busy time in your life.

Masti

You're telling me that my 20s aren't busy already and it's getting worse going into the 30s. Oh no.

Ricarda

I would say so yes. It's like struggling with your career. Is it good what I'm doing? Am I at the right position? Do I want kids or not?

Masti

it's a different kind of struggle.

Final Advice and reflections

Ricarda

It's a different kind of struggle and I think we're all very, very busy. And yeah, of course, some friendships we don't see each other that much often anymore, but other ones, yeah, we see each other nearly daily. There are colleagues now too at the university. So yes and no, but yeah, I think so.

Masti

So maybe to sum things up a little, because I feel like we've talked a lot about you, your past Ricarda, your current Ricarda, your student life and things you had on your journey. What are the two main things you think people should keep in mind?

Ricarda

I think don't be afraid of challenging yourself and use the doors that open.

Masti

Open towards opportunities. I think that's what you meant to say with keeping your doors open. Maybe you can tell us what you actually mean with that phrase.

Ricarda

Yeah, just go your way and do what feels right. Yeah, just go your way and do what feels right and grasp the opportunities that will open it. So they will come naturally if you go your way, if you do what you really love to do, maybe, yeah, and open take these, opportunities them and um, then open doors will come.

Masti

Based on your personal um interests, are there any? Maybe movies or books or, in this case, I think, literature is the best thing we could choose from BC. Are there things you could reference and give out to our listeners, something like an advice that you got from, something like a book?

Ricarda

I would say something that popped on my mind first was Great Expectations by Dickens, because that was my first book I read in English for a course of the Bachelor of Culture Européenne. It was a course of Agnes. It was hard to read for me but I have to say I made it through it and I really liked the story and that was, yeah, the book and the course was a challenge I took. And Great Expectations I mean the title, yeah, self-speaking maybe.

Masti

I don't have to get into it much more. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Alumni Stories. If you want to get in touch with our guests, are interested in applying or need more details about the Bachelor of European Culture study program here at the University of Luxembourg, check out the description of today's episode, where I've added all the information you'll need. That's all for now, but we'll be back soon and I hope you will be too, maybe even soon on campus.

Head Shot

Masti Shaswar

Host
Head Shot

Ariane Henry

Producer