Alexandra Poliakova, International Media Studies

H-BRS: Which experiences from your time of study have had a particularly notable impact on your life? Which of them are still useful to you today?

A.P.: I think the most important experience was the interculturality. In my group we had students from 16 countries and within 2 years we turned into a real multicultural family. Now I work in an international company with a quite different business mentality but the intercultural experience that I gained in Bonn still helps me to understand and accept many things that are not typical for my culture.

H-BRS: Who or what has influenced your career the most?

A.P.: I think hat studying journalism made it much easier for me to work as a PR manager and freelance journalist for many newspapers. I always liked writing but before I attended the study course International Media Studies I often faced difficulties as a journalist or copywriter. After the graduation I started to "feel" the profession much better than before. 

H-BRS: What reminiscences do you have of particularly strange, funny, sad or memorable events that occurred during your studies?

A.P.: It was a Klassenfahrt into the Alps. We undertook it before we started to write our master theses. The mountains fascinated me and the house where we lived too. But since the group was big and international, a lot of funny things happened during this trip too: someone almost set the house on fire, someone used all the hot water in the boiler leaving no chance for others to take a shower, someone threw out ashes near the doorstep as a "nice" present to the house owner. But it was huge fun being together and enjoying the nature and "wild" life. Also, I adored salsa dancing in Bonn. It has such a special friendly spirit. So Bonn is a great place for passionate salsa dancers.