From flight to studies: “Taking my destiny into my own hands”
Growing up during the war in Syria, Rama Abdad Baki experienced restrictions, uncertainty, and danger. At the age of 20, she made what was likely the most difficult decision of her life: to flee and actively reshape her life. “I wanted to take my destiny into my own hands and build a future greater than the circumstances of the war around me.”
After several failed attempts, she finally managed to cross by boat from Turkey to Greece. In Germany she found her bearings again, had her secondary-school diploma recognized and chose the Social Work degree program at HAW Hamburg. The decisive factor in her choice was the program’s practical orientation: theory is consistently linked to application. She continues: “As a diverse city, Hamburg also offered the chance to engage in various social contexts, to work with people of different ages and cultures, and to continuously expand my skills. I learned that it is completely normal to try out different things before you find the right path.” From her journey so far, she has drawn the following conclusions: “Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to who you were yesterday. Time spent trying things out is not wasted time. It creates clarity, and you are always allowed to choose again. Success is possible in many fields, but true creativity and happiness come only when you’re in a field you love.”
