My name is Indra Lachhein. I was at GESS from 2009 to graduating in 2019, so I got to spend one year on the new campus.
What has your learning journey been like after GESS and what are you up to now?
After I graduated, I started studying Politics and Administration at the University of Constance in October 2019. Constance is a very pretty, but small and cosy city in the South of Germany, right at Lake Constance. I definitely recommend Constance to anyone if they want to go to uni. The university is rated high for their academics, but you can also have a great time with your friends there.
Last year, I did an internship at the Singaporean German Chamber of Commerce. My task was to support the team that does project management. There is not usually a specific team for project management, but 2022 was unique because of the Asia-Pacific Conference for German Businesses being held in Singapore. It’s a biannual event and because of Covid, they haven’t held it in person since 2018. With the conference being the biggest conference of the year and a lot of MNCs and ministers attending, I helped the project management side of things for the SGCC.
When my internship ended in mid-October 2022, I returned to Constance to write my Bachelor thesis. Due to Covid, I have pretty much just been back and forth among Germany, Singapore and also Canada.
I’m definitely keen on coming back to Singapore at some point after graduation. It always keeps on pulling me back so I feel like I’m kind of fated to come back eventually.
What is your favourite memory of your time at GESS?
To pick one specific memory would be quite difficult as I’ve collected so many over the 10 years I’ve been at GESS. But the most prominent one would be our trips organised by GESS. For example, the trip to India and our community project there. That was something that I think really shaped all of us that went on that trip, because it was a very humbling experience. We got to see first-hand everything we worked on coming to fruition. I went to India twice, once with my Realschule class and the year after again when I changed to the Gymnasium track. So I actually got to see what we contributed to; very nice and very touching to see. It brought a lot of different perspectives into our day-to-day school life which I think helped us mature in a way. We were there as volunteers and I felt like we actually made an impact for societal change.
What do you miss most about your time at GESS?
Definitely the community! All the teachers, the students. Just the all-around small and tight-knit GESS bubble. You always knew everyone. I really do miss that, because when you go to uni, you meet people from various walks of life, but you do miss sharing that same background which obviously most people here at GESS have. It’s just so different coming out of school. Especially, coming out of an international school like this where some people were with you since the beginning. It was definitely an adjustment having to adapt to a very new environment. Germany is my home country, but I haven’t lived there since 2005, so you definitely get a culture shock even though it’s supposed to be your own culture, your own home, but living there is totally different than just going once a year for the summer.
What did you miss about Singapore and your life here when you were in Germany?
You know, the usual thing that everyone mentions: The food! To be fair though, for some odd reason there are three Singaporean restaurants in Constance. I don’t know why. They obviously couldn’t compare.
I also miss just the simplicity of school life when you had free lessons starting in 11th or 10th grade and were allowed to go out and grab something for lunch outside of school during those lessons. Going to the hawker centre, coming back to school, bringing food for everyone who didn’t have a free lesson, those kind of small things and memories attached – I do miss a lot about Singapore.
Since we were students, we didn’t really have a lot of worries; having almost no responsibilities except for school was definitely a very relaxing and fun time. Singapore is just overall a great place to live in and grow up in. So many possibilities from sitting at a hawker centre like I mentioned, to going out with friends, and being a very safe place. Those are things to really appreciate.
Did you have any favourite spots on campus or in Singapore?
For most of my school life, I’ve been at the old campus. We always walked down the hill and stopped by Binjai Hawker Centre. I am sure many of the Alumni from my year before remember this. There was this alley next to the Binjai Hawker Centre and we would just grab food, sit there and talk after school, pretty much every day. It was definitely a favourite spot. There’s also an outdoor seating area between Binjai Park and Sixth Avenue, called Tantchen for the German community. During Covid, for all the people who came back, it was kind of our meeting point. With the restrictions and all, there were only so many places you were able to go to and it reminded us of school times.
What impact do you think your time in Singapore and at GESS had on your life?
I’ll use the GESS slogan for my answer: GESS gave me roots and wings. This pretty much sums it up. Including the Covid times, I’ve now lived in Singapore for over 12 years and been at GESS for 10, and before that I was in Hong Kong so I was always in countries where I was not originally from. So GESS was always a home for me and I’m pretty sure for all my peers as well. As someone who grew up third-cultured, GESS was always a place we could resonate with. It was our community. We all had this background and the struggles of not growing up in the place where we were actually from but that connected us. And when you go to your home country, I think you do realise when people grow up in international communities or at international schools like GESS, they are very like-minded people. I can definitely see this is what GESS gave me, and became a “toolkit” I needed for life. That’s why I’m still connected with not only with many of my school friends, but also with the teachers, the very people who created a great time in GESS. It wasn’t only school, it was also home in which we could all feel comfortable in.
You mentioned a “life toolkit”, so what kind of skills did you pick up at GESS that you find quite useful now?
Openness to all kinds of cultures. Something I attribute to all my teachers is them contributing to me being able to think critically. At GESS it was very important. I’d like to give a shoutout to Herr Riekmann and Frau Hoffart in English and German class, which were based around discussions and critically analysing things. That is something you will definitely need at uni and not many people I talked to learned that. I’m definitely more than thankful to GESS for not just teaching me that, but actually equipping me with practical skillsets.
What makes GESS special to you?
I get reminded that I went to GESS every day. Every day I notice something I learned at GESS. What I also see as very special about going to GESS, is growing up somewhere foreign, yet a mix of Singaporean-German community which opened up so many different possibilities. Having that broad spectrum of opportunities was beneficial. I’m very grateful to GESS.
Is there any piece of advice or experience you would like to share with our current students?
My advice is very personal, but I think it applies to many GESS students, especially the 8th and 9th graders. I was hitting rock bottom academically in 9th grade and I thought I was destined to fail. I hope the perception of Realschule has changed a bit, but back then, it always had a negative connotation. Do know that even if you may not do well in 9th grade or 8th grade does not mean you are not able to persevere. Don’t let yourself feel like one year of your life has gone to waste. I actually turned everything around that year – that challenging year will be crucial for you to develop as a person, and will probably be way more beneficial to you than if you just made it into the Abitur stream the first time round. There are so many possibilities with the German schooling system. If you don’t make it the first time, try again and the teachers will definitely help you. The Realschule classes are always a bit more intimate in terms of size – which means teachers can give you more attention.
Just don’t give up. GESS, the teachers, the community, they are always very eager to help!
