I have enjoyed two gap years – one on Rosenberg and one in Paris – and then focused on my studies at the Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL). I just finished my second internship, which was part of my Bachelor’s program and will now continue with my last year at EHL.
There were tons of incomparable moments at Rosenberg. I loved the trainings for the Rosenberg Ball. I really appreciated all the programs since they allowed me to discover the Swiss culture, which is something I would not have taken the initiative to do especially as a young teenager. Every day, I loved the moments I shared with the Rosenberg community. Whether it was with close friends or not, you faced the same daily events together.
My favourite city changes a lot – right now I am absolutely in love and excited about New York. Why? It’s the city that never sleeps and the city of dreams and I love being able to eat, shop, explore at any hour. I want to work in marketing later and I think in a city like New York, where it is fast moving and very competitive, you can be inspired anywhere at any second and you remain at the top of your game!
I don’t have a specific place I like to hang out at… But if you ask my friends and family, I do enjoy spending time at food markets and grocery stores! :-) I just love discovering different food from all over the world, especially when the products are fresh – for example Eataly and the Chelsea Market in New York! :-) You could find me there for hours!!
This changes a lot as well. For now I really want to go to Dubai not just to hang out at the beach but to visit one of my close friends whom I have not seen for quite a while (shout out to Adea Shabani) and whom I have met thanks to my Rosenberg friend Mariella! :-)
To make it short and leaving out all the obvious (study, behave, avoid night reports etc.) I would advise current students to: 1. Take a lot of photos 2. Film a lot of videos 3. Take part in the Rosenberg Ball – when else in your life will you be able to wear white Cinderella-like dresses and hang on ropes, rings and other structures from the ceiling! :-) 4. Be curious, be ambitious and chase your ambitions.
I am inspired by people who are genuinely kind, patient and who regardless if they have an advantage or disadvantage, do not forget their values and responsibilities. One of these many people I have met is Ray. He truly portrays and lives the sentence “Money is not everything”. I met him in a park about a 10 minutes’ drive away from the train station in Speonk, a very small city in the Hamptons. My friend and I had to catch the last train to our final destination and there were no cabs and no one else in the park could drive us. Ray drove in with his ice-cream truck but unfortunately he could not take us in it because he would risk losing his ice cream truck. He suggested that we went to the gas station nearby to hitch a ride. To our disappointment, there was no one we could hitch a ride with there. We were so desperate that we just tried to stop any car that passed. Just as we were about to give up, a car came from around the corner and stopped in front of us. It was Ray. He had gone home to leave his ice-cream truck so he could pick us up with his car. On our way to the train station he explained to us that he was from Pakistan and he used to work for Home Depot until he got shot and permanently injured, which is the reason why he decided to start his own ice-cream truck business. Now every year he goes home for a few months when he has earned enough money for a flight ticket. Arriving at the train station we offered him 20 USD to make up for ice creams he could have sold had he not helped us get to the train station. Ray refused it, saying that “Money is not everything”. What Ray did for us that day despite his situation, will forever inspire me.
My family is precious to me. There are only so many family members and the love of family members that you are born with.
Right now, I still have one more year until I will complete my Bachelor at EHL. After that I hope to work for a creative marketing agency in New York that focuses on innovation. Again, this is right now and I still have one more year to go. I am open to gaining all the experience possible, which might change my career plan!
To learn to live is to learn from every mistake we make, every lesson we are given, so we can become the best version of ourselves, in hope of gradually touching and inspiring everyone we meet along the way, and…to be happy with your life.