Despite personal difficulties during his childhood in Tanzania, education was always a priority for Octavian. According to Octavian, many people, such as the Nehemiah Christian Aid Foundation, encouraged him to continue learning and thus expand his knowledge. As a geography and English teacher, he then taught pupils himself at Bethania Technical Secondary School, a partner school of his elementary school Bethania Primary School. He says that he always firmly believed that his past would not stop him and that he dreamed of being able to study in another country if only he would work hard for it. He also recognized that the well-being of pupils and the success of a school are influenced by various factors. In Octavian’s opinion, the development of social personal skills plays an important role.

His social project and his studies at SRH Berlin therefore focused on international HR management alongside other business studies. Octavian’s work ranged from creating materials for the onboarding process of staff at a secondary school in Tanzania, to preparing, conducting and following up on interviews with different staff groups at this school, to his master’s thesis on predictors of staff turnover in private secondary schools based on a case study in Tanzania. He talked about his own experiences as a teacher in Tanzania and as an international student in a foreign city (Berlin) and a foreign country (Germany), as well as his experiences as an SBW Berlin scholarship holder in cooperation with the SBW Berlin.

In addition to his academic studies, the scholarship also gave him the opportunity to immerse himself in a different culture. Octavian is grateful to have met people from all over the world. He made friends for life, broadened his horizons and questioned his own prejudices. He says that he has learned to appreciate the beauty of cultural diversity and that he has acquired a global mindset that will prove invaluable in his future endeavors wherever he might be working or currently residing. During his studies, he also took the opportunity to participate in on-site and online training and internships and gained practical experience in multinational corporations. He is convinced that this experience has not only helped him to apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations, but has also enabled him to build a network of professional contacts that will be of great benefit to him in the years to come.

After finishing his studies, he thinks back to some events that were not easy for him at the beginning, finding his way in a new city and a new country. He shared how he had a very long walk home on the second day after his arrival in Berlin after visiting the university campus. Since his cell phone battery was dead, he had no access to Google Maps or other public transportation information. Using public transport such as buses, subway trains or suburban trains seemed very complicated to him and he finally decided to walk. This turned into a two to three-hour “walk” in the dark.

Octavian’s story is also proof of what a scholarship program can achieve. What began as an academic trip abroad, he says, evolved into a lifelong adventure of learning, personal growth and global citizenship. According to Octavian, the scholarship not only changed his life, but it also had a far-reaching impact on his community and indirectly made education and opportunities available to many other people who dream of a better future. He is now passing on this experience and putting the skills he acquired during his studies into practice in Tanzania. He is also continuing his social project there. We are sure that Octavian will go on to achieve much and encourage future generations of students to be goal oriented learners and committed to the wellbeing of others and the community.