News from Friedensau
With Joy and Sorrow
Autumn is a very beautiful time of the year, and is marked by change in the color of the leaves, in addition to this every October in Friedensau, there is a different type of change as students graduate and new students join for various courses for the new academic year.
This year was no different and on the first weekend of the new academic year (15-16, Oct. 2011) there was great joy as new members were added to the international student community here in Friedensau and 7 of the international students had completed their courses successfully and graduated, On Sabbath, during the regular church worship service, there was special welcome for the new international students during which they received a small memento. This was organized by the Friedensau Church pastor, Gerald Hummel and the University Chaplain, Dittmar Dost. Yet as is very often in life, this great joy is mixed with sorrow since it means that these beloved students would be leaving Friedensau, to pursue their careers.
On Sunday morning, there was the graduation service, in which 7 of the international students graduated. Four of them graduated from the M.A. International Social Sciences programme, while the other three were from the Master of Theological Studies programme. During the graduation, there was also a time to recognize distinguished international students, for outstanding academic achievements and involvement in the social and inter-cultural life. This prize is sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service, (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst: "DAAD"). The DAAD is a joint organization of the universities and other institutions of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany. Supported from public funds, the DAAD promotes international academic cooperation, especially through the exchange of students and academics. This year’s DAAD prize was awarded to Mr. Kwaku Arhin-Sam, a third semester student studying the M.A. International Social Sciences programme. We congratulate Kwaku on his achievement.
On Sunday evening, there was a welcome and farewell party, which was organized by the community of International students for their colleagues, who had graduated and for those who had just joined by them. There was a very delicious multi cuisine dinner, which consisted of Asian and African delicacies prepared by the students themselves. It was a good weekend for the International student community in Friedensau. We congratulate our graduates and wish them all the best in their future endeavors, and we wish the newstudents the best of the luck as they start their studies at Friedensau
