Could you provide a short overview of your academic journey since leaving LIS and share what drew you to your chosen field?
– I am currently studying in my last semester of Landscape Architecture with a focus on Urban Planning at the Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf in Freising. My attention was drawn to this field by current environmental and political happenings regarding climate change, as well as the possibility of shaping future cities to be resilient and adapted to new climates, which is also what I wrote my bachelor thesis about.
What were the biggest academic or personal challenges you encountered, and how did you navigate them?
– The biggest challenge was the way Covid-19 impacted the social aspect of university, especially in the first year when you’re meant to start building a network of people around you. Small groups had formed due to limited contact allowance, which unfortunately didn’t change much even after social interactions were allowed again. This was unknown to me as I was used to the big LIS community. To overcome the lack of a diverse social group within my course, I looked elsewhere to find like-minded people by going to university sports, or events hosted by different faculties within my university.
How did you balance the rigorous academic demands of university with your personal life and extracurricular activities?
– I did not find this part quite as hard as I had expected it to be. Mostly because my time at LIS prepared me well with time management skills. One part that was different to school life however, is that nobody will make sure that you are actually doing your work, and group projects are a challenge to organise. With 5 people in a group, it was important to block times during the week, in which we would all be working on the project, whether we meet up or did individual work on it. This way we made sure that everyone was putting in a similar amount of effort. Other than that it was important to me to do activities regularly. I viewed them as a part of my academic timetable to ensure I would have a deliberate scheduled break to get my mind off university for a while.
Final models for urban design elective 
Final presentation of 6th semester project 
Working at my internship
Can you describe some challenges you faced during university and how your experience at LIS helped you to overcome them?
– One of the challenges during university was switching from learning in English, to German especially in topics encountered in IB. Translating and comparing to what I have learned during IB was very helpful to create a relation to previous knowledge even though the language has changed.
– My university holds exams at the end of every semester i.e. every 6 months, additionally to projects which are completed throughout the semester. A challenge I faced with this in the beginning of my university experience was using a lot of my focus and energy for projects during the semester, and being burned out before the exam period even began. Prioritising which subjects are worth investing energy in is very important. Otherwise you risk lower grades in later or larger exams, which may be more important to skills or future employers than earlier/easier exams which are regarded as “nice to have”. Similarly to IB where a university might disregard a lower grade in an unrelated subject, but not an important one (to that degree).
What strategies did you use to maintain well-being amidst high expectations at university?
– The most helpful strategy was assessing my personal situation, instead of comparing myself to others: Do I have the necessary tools to live up to the expectations e.g. time, resources and energy? If not, how can I change my situation into setting myself up for success? This can be in the form of asking for help when it’s needed or changing your own schedule to better match your priorities. Furthermore, I found it important to accept the situation I am in. If I currently don’t have the necessary tools to perform at my best, it is unreasonable to blame myself for not achieving above my abilities. I just have to make sure that next time I do have the tools.
In what ways has your university education influenced your career decisions or opened unexpected opportunities?
– After an internship in a comparatively large office for Landscape Architecture in the Leipzig region, and some reflection on my experiences there, I have a clearer image of what I am looking for in a future employer. My second internship also helped me identify skills I would like to improve on and work with in the future. Internships are an important part of making career decisions, as they bring forward the reality of working in your chosen field by combining theory learned at university with real life scenarios.
Winter in Freising 
Acrobatics at the Munich Con 2023/ university sports
Were there any pivotal experiences during university or after that reshaped your career aspirations?
– Another reason that internships are so important is that you can get insights into what kind of work environment you want to find in the future. I did my internships in very professional offices, which was a good experience to improve on my skills with qualified coworkers and learn about the business. However, I noticed that it was not the kind of environment I would like to work in, as it was quite tense in the office at times. Both of my bosses had an open office, which sounds great in theory – you can always walk in and ask questions – but it gave me a feeling of being watched and controlled while I’m working, not letting me properly focus on the work I was doing.
How did the community and network at university enhance your goals, and how can LIS students begin building networks now?
– As mentioned before, Covid-19 impacted the social aspect of my university life severely, highlighting the importance of a strong community to me even more. When our course finally started communicating more, and becoming more of a network it was evident that like-minded people could still have very different resources, knowledge, experiences. Sharing these with each other opened more opportunities and broadened our knowledge. An easy way to get started is LinkedIn, to find people attending the same university or course, professors or previous students. All of these can be very helpful in building a network.
What advice would you give current LIS students who aspire to attend your university, especially regarding preparation during high school?
– To attend any university, it’s important to find out what it’s all about. The kind of people attending or how daily life looks like in the city is something you should look into. Whats most important is that it’s a match for you and your lifestyle! It should be a place you’re excited to start a new chapter of your life in, because if you can’t enjoy your environment or the people around you, it can make attending university and keeping yourself on the right track that much harder. Look into where you will be spending the next couple years of your life and make sure you can see yourself there, instead of attending a university just because the course is a good match.