A few months ago, our Alumna Melanie Mussgnug visited us. She graduated from GESS in 2021 and now studies Safety & Security Management at The Hague University for Applied Sciences. She talked to us about student life and transitioning from school to university.
What do you like best about student life?
What I like most is the contact with people from other countries and the fact that you get to know other cultures, just like at GESS. But also the relationship you have with the lecturers. They are quite relaxed, help you a lot and that makes university life a bit more fun than when you are alone in a big university where you don’t really know anyone else.
What do you miss about your time at GESS?
The people and the close friendships we have made here. It’s a bit of a shame that you lose sight of each other when everyone moves to other countries or stays in Singapore. And I miss the support from the teachers at GESS, who have always helped me a lot.
What particularly surprised you when you started at the university?
I was surprised by the number of people who applied for the course. We started with 200-300 students and we’re now down to 94 in the second year. There was a lot of sorting out, especially in the first semester, when many people realised that the course wasn’t for them or that it was more work than they had expected. Even though we actually had a lot of free time in the first year. And the drastic departure from the course was very surprising.
What did you take away from your time at GESS that is particularly helpful to you now at university?
Being able to deal with the fact that you often only spend a short time with people. Especially now at university, when many friends go away or spend a semester abroad and you are separated for a longer period of time or live on two different continents, that’s something you learn at GESS. For example, I came here in year 9 and I made friends here who went back to Germany when we were in year 10. That’s a shame, but that’s how you learn to deal with coming and going.
Do you have any tips or advice for this year’s graduating class?
Study a lot! Start studying early enough and don’t start a week before and think you can just about manage it.
