Life-changing experience
Life-changing experience
(Olena Chernyshenko, former student of the Translation department
Faculty of Foreign Languages Kirovohrad Vynnychenko State Pedagogical
University)
I
never gave much thought to how life-changing experience would be like. I
still don't. In fact, now, I can for sure say, it will be intense,
challenging and very exciting, a “big awakening”, when you start to
understand where your strengths and weaknesses lay. My life-changing experience started at Chigwell School (UK). Chigwell School is an independent foundation offering an outstanding all round education to boys and girls
between the ages of 7 and 18. I joined a
6th Form Class 2006-2008 after being lucky enough to win an Elworthy
Scholarship 2006 (now HMC).Upon arrival I joined a diverse environment, a fusion of nationalities, dominated by British culture. British Education System gives you a freedom to tailor the program to meet your specific needs and future career objectives by choosing minimum four main subjects in the first year, in order to carry on with them (or drop one) in the second. My choice was Economics, Government and Politics, Religious Studies and German Language. All classes were taught in small groups from 4 and up to 15 people. The goal of teachers was to bring out the best in each of us so that we can learn from each other.
Chigwell’s work hard mentality enabled me to enjoy the perfect balance
between schoolwork, uni search, club activities, social events and
parties. Sometimes you give up sleeping. That is when I learned what
does a ‘can do’ attitude and a ‘ready to learn’ approach mean.
Chigwell
experience helped me to better understand and expand my world, provided
with a foundation for successful navigation in the ever-changing
landscape of international business world. The key Chigwell take away is
now a feeling, that I can achieve whatever I want to and a motto: “Find
a way or make way”.
Afterwards I made my way to MLU Halle Wittenberg (Germany), where I chose International Business Economics to become my major (BSc). Just like two yeas before I found myself to be surrounded by more than twenty different nationalities still dominated by Germans. This is where I met inspiring mix of thought leaders among professors and talented students. Perfectly mixing practice with theory, professors’ objective was to put all our knowledge together and to provide a framework for us to take with when we leave the class. Most of the lectures had an inspiring environment that forced us for open-minded debates and gave an eagerness to engage in new ideas.
I expanded my network by making friendship with most diverse and interesting people. The intense two years long curriculum developed successful, thoughtful students with cross-cultural insights and creative problem solving skills, future leaders, who will generate value for their communities and countries. Now, I am proud to be part of this network. Constant competition with
others forced me to finish my courses a year earlier than planned and dream about free time ever more.
Thus I decided to grasp my hands on experience and to find an internship. Hard? Yes! Impossible? No! It only took me three month, eight interviews, and sixty sent applications to get into HUGO BOSS. Now, I am one of the hundred interns in the company who works hard on the daily basis in order to perform and go further. Even though I am still fighting with German and no one can properly say my name, I found my way.
Don't think about life-changing experience, wait till it comes and give it your own definition.
Chigwell
experience helped me to better understand and expand my world, provided
with a foundation for successful navigation in the ever-changing
landscape of international business world. The key Chigwell take away is
now a feeling, that I can achieve whatever I want to and a motto: “Find
a way or make way”.Afterwards I made my way to MLU Halle Wittenberg (Germany), where I chose International Business Economics to become my major (BSc). Just like two yeas before I found myself to be surrounded by more than twenty different nationalities still dominated by Germans. This is where I met inspiring mix of thought leaders among professors and talented students. Perfectly mixing practice with theory, professors’ objective was to put all our knowledge together and to provide a framework for us to take with when we leave the class. Most of the lectures had an inspiring environment that forced us for open-minded debates and gave an eagerness to engage in new ideas.
I expanded my network by making friendship with most diverse and interesting people. The intense two years long curriculum developed successful, thoughtful students with cross-cultural insights and creative problem solving skills, future leaders, who will generate value for their communities and countries. Now, I am proud to be part of this network. Constant competition with
others forced me to finish my courses a year earlier than planned and dream about free time ever more.Thus I decided to grasp my hands on experience and to find an internship. Hard? Yes! Impossible? No! It only took me three month, eight interviews, and sixty sent applications to get into HUGO BOSS. Now, I am one of the hundred interns in the company who works hard on the daily basis in order to perform and go further. Even though I am still fighting with German and no one can properly say my name, I found my way.
Don't think about life-changing experience, wait till it comes and give it your own definition.
Best wishes,
Olena Chernyshenko
Olena Chernyshenko