Rector Schiewer welcomed numerous former students from around the world back to their university for the Alumni Meeting 2016. He invited donors and club presidents to his office to meet and discuss with them personally. The alumni talked about their time studying at the University of Freiburg and explained why they remain involved at their university today.

Professor Masahira Deguchi, President of the Japan Chapter of Alumni Freiburg e.V.

I began my studies here in Freiburg in 1989 and completed my doctorate in 1991. It was a great experience for me to be able to study here. I would like to communicate that to my young compatriots so that they also come here to study.

I’ve been bringing groups of 25 students to Freiburg regularly for the past 15 years. Over the years we’ve brought more than 300 students to Freiburg. I’ve met a lot of students from other countries here whom I’m still in contact with today. I want to make these amazing experiences possible for our students too.

 

Günther Diefenbacher, donor

I was born in 1926; that makes me 90 years old. After the war I was lucky enough to be admitted to the university. What still connects me to my university today is my memories of the valuable time I spent here learning something for my profession and for my life. It makes me very happy to still have such a strong bond with my university today. That’s why I support the university and the Deutschlandstipendium scholarships program with my donations.

 

Hans-Joachim Stalf, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chapter of Alumni Freiburg e.V.

I generally like to give something back. I studied here, at length and in depth, and it was a great time for me. I would like to make up for that, also for others who perhaps have a harder time now than I did then with the transition from the university to a job.

There’s also the fact that our university has interesting offerings like the Deutschlandstipendium. It’s never been so easy as it is with this scholarship program to make two euros out of one euro for students. Another thing I find convincing is the wide range of new course offerings at the University College. This is something you can invest in with a good conscience.

I also really like Freiburg and the whole atmosphere in the town. It’s a town where I can decide on a winter afternoon to go skiing in the Black Forest under floodlights. These are things I’ll never be able to do again. When I tell other people about them, they’re deeply impressed. I believe that young people today have completely different difficulties than we had. Many people are very young when they get here, many are under a lot of pressure from their parents or are very disoriented. And it’s great to see what the university does today to help these young students “settle in” here. It’s nothing like when I was here. What they told us back then was: “Find your way on your own.”

 

Jeffrey Himmel, President of the North America Chapter of Alumni Freiburg e.V.

Studying in Freiburg was a life-changing experience for me. It was the first time I was really away from home, away from everything I knew, and I had the chance to learn a lot about myself. I had a wonderful time in Freiburg, both academically and socially. The culture of giving something back is very important in my native country, so it’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be able to give something back to Freiburg and the university.

 

Marie-Claudine Zangna, President of the Cameroon Chapter of Alumni Freiburg e.V.

My relationship with the University of Freiburg as an alumna was very positive from the beginning, right from the time I finished my degree: I wrote a letter to the university to express my thanks for giving me the opportunity to study pharmacy here. I was delighted to receive a response from Rector Professor Schupp. He wrote that it was unusual for someone to thank the university after receiving their degree. He recommended that I give my address to the International Office so I could maintain this contact with the university.

It’s important for me to use my relations with the university to support development in my country and for the next generation. It’s always good to keep up such relations. I’ve founded an alumni club to maintain this contact. We’ve learned about German culture and have adopted some aspects of it ourselves. Sometimes people even refer to us as “the Germans” in Cameroon because of this. The club also gives us a chance to display solidarity and to realize projects. In our most recent project, for example, we organized training courses and campaigns to raise awareness for the correct disposal of hospital waste.