Hi, my name is Niyonkuru Charlotte, and this is my journey to Berlin. At 21 years old, I made a life-changing decision to intern in Berlin, Germany without speaking any German. For two years, I was studying neuroscience and biology; I thought I had a passion for medicine, I thought I wanted to attend medical school and face the challenges that come with it until I discovered International Relations. In the summer of 2018, I was sitting in a chemistry class, confused and zoning off as always filled with thoughts of where and what I wanted to be in the future in the back of my head.
I remembered when my mentor/ advisor sat with me the previous year and asked me what was my plan B in case medical school didn’t work out. I had that particular question running through my head the whole year, and I still couldn’t think of something else I wanted to do other than medicine, so I told her I had none, and that medical school was it for me. Although I said that to her, I never really stopped asking myself that question, it was always in the back of my head. One day, I did okay on my chemistry exam; usually, this made me happy since chem is my least favorite subject. Instead, I felt stress and anxiety about where my life was heading and if I’d be satisfied in my future filled me. That same week, I spoke to my brother and a best friend of mine and told them what I wanted in life and what my dreams and hopes were. They both told me the same thing; they both reminded me how much I loved being there for people and the passion I had to better my country. After talking with them, I planned a meeting with my advisor to talk about changing majors. She was thrilled that I finally figured this out; happy that I finally had a plan B. I then shared with her my conversation between my brother as well as my best friend and she gave me the assignment to research different fields and see what best fit my wants. I spent about a week or so reading about the different possibilities IR could offer and what I could enjoy doing instead of complaining.
In August of 2018, I decided to apply for the Berlin Experience; through this program, I was able to get a fantastic internship for a semester. This experience gave me the opportunity to work closely with refugee kids from the middle east and more.