It's called being spoiled for choice: two renowned organizations for the promotion of gifted students wanted to support 19-year-old Mahmoud with a scholarship to study medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. In the end, the decision was made in favor of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and against another large organization for the promotion of gifted students. Mahmoud owes the fact that he has come this far above all to his own determination. Advice from TalentScouting at Fachhochschule Dortmund also played a part.
It is important to the young man to place the scholarship in his educational career with a sense of proportion: "It was always my dream to study medicine and it was the greatest joy of my life when I was accepted for the course. A scholarship, on the other hand, was never an independent goal for me. I'm happy about it, but I see it more as a kind of escalator: I could also get to my destination via a normal staircase, but the scholarship makes it a bit more comfortable."
"In contrast, a scholarship was never a goal in itself for me. I'm happy about it, but I see it more as a kind of escalator: I could also reach my goal via a normal staircase, but with the scholarship it's a bit more comfortable."
It is important to note that Mahmoud's career was the opposite of comfortable: in 2012, he left his home country of Syria, which had been torn apart by civil war, and finally arrived in Germany in the summer of 2017 after an odyssey that included stops in Egypt and Turkey.
Achieving a 1.0 A-level with good companions
Just three years later, he graduated from the Gymnasium an der Schweizer Allee (GadSA) with a dream grade of 1.0 - proof of the young man's incredible determination and willpower, as well as his openness to good companions: Retired GadSA teacher Franz-Joseph Schwering tutored Mahmoud in German, English and philosophy, and he had a reliable contact at the Dortmund Youth Migration Service in Vinka Slisko.
"I'm not a person who pleases everyone. And the fact that my TalentScout Sonja Hunscha was happy to help me was very nice. No matter when I wanted to talk to her, there was always a conversation possible. All this support comes out of interest and a big heart."
Since Q 1, TalentScout Sonja Hunscha has also been an important reference person for Mahmoud. "I did well in Q 1, I had an average of 1.4 - but that wasn't good enough for a place at medical school. That worried me a lot," says Mahmoud, giving an insight into his path to TalenScouting. He is very grateful to Sonja Hunscha for her support in the years that followed: "I'm not a person who pleases everyone. And the fact that Ms. Hunscha was happy to help me was very nice. No matter when I wanted to talk to her, it was always possible to have a conversation. All this support comes out of interest and a big heart."
Commitments from two organizations for the promotion of gifted students
After it became clear during Q2 that Mahmoud was heading for the top grade in his Abitur, the topic of scholarships became the focus of the consultations. "As I don't compare myself much with others, I didn't know how good my chances would be. When my final grade was clear, Ms. Hunscha offered to put me forward to the Studienstiftung." Since 2017, every NRW talent scout has had the right to nominate one talent per calendar year for funding from the German National Academic Foundation. Mahmoud gratefully accepted this and at the same time applied on his own initiative to another large talent promotion organization that has a special programme for refugees in its portfolio. He was able to convince both institutions.
"At the Studienstiftung, I can make contacts with people who should be special and successful in some way - it is the foundation's aim to bring these people together. My hope is to exchange ideas with these people and perhaps even make friends in life."
From the very beginning, Mahmoud focused on the potential of the foundations to offer their scholarship holders networks, which ultimately also influenced his decision: "At the Studienstiftung, I can make contacts with people who should be special and successful in some way - it is the foundation's aim to bring these people together. My hope is to exchange ideas with these people and perhaps even make friends in life." Of course, the financial component of the scholarship is also attractive: the Studienstiftung can support Mahmoud in his plans to complete cost-intensive internships and clinical traineeships abroad.
"My biggest goal is to complete my studies and become a good surgeon"
Mahmoud found the digital selection weekend very challenging. "It's very difficult when you're sitting in a 10 square meter room, concentrating on a small screen and having to block out everything else around you. You have to physically immerse yourself in the process, even though it's only a digital process. It was all like a dream disconnected from reality." At least he was able to draw on valuable information that he had gathered at the TalentScouting preparatory workshop. He knew that the time limit for the self-presentation had to be adhered to down to the second.
For the time ahead of him as a scholarship holder, Mahmoud hopes that the coronavirus-related restrictions on digital formats can be lifted as soon as possible. "I very much regret that I can hardly take advantage of the non-material offers. For example, if you sit at home and do an online language course, then that is only limited non-material support. And it's also difficult to make contacts via the screen."
When asked about his personal goals for the future, Mahmoud answers with great precision: "My biggest goal is to complete my studies and become a good surgeon - nothing more and nothing less."