Dear future Atlanticists, when I decided to pursue the Master of Atlantic Studies, I was going through a bit of a "career" crisis. I was actually studying the Master of Education Spanish/History and in the course of the different school internships I realized that I was not sure if I really wanted to become a teacher. Therefore, the double master's in Atlantic Studies was the perfect complement to my teaching degree. The courses, especially with my subject combination, completed each other and through the Master Atlantic Studies I was able to focus on international and intercultural transatlantic relations at the same time. Also, the interdisciplinary focus of the program as well as the mandatory study abroad or internship should prove to be very valuable in the future. After completing my mandatory internship with an African NGO in Barcelona, I applied for a six-month internship at Continental AG in the HR department in winter 2019 and finally started it in January 2020. Afterwards, I was taken on as a payroll clerk and now work as a Payroll Specialist in the technical payroll department of the corporation. Looking back, the Master Atlantic Studies was the best possible choice for me. Especially in a large international corporation like Continental, I was able to use the soft skills I acquired during my studies in a variety of ways. Thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, I was also able to familiarize myself quickly and independently with new and unfamiliar topics in a professional environment, and the intercultural focus of the program also proved to be very valuable. Through the mandatory international internship, I also acquired the necessary professional experience, without which it is virtually impossible to succeed in today's extremely competitive job market.  

Joshua Calderón

Dear future Atlanticists, when I decided in summer 2010 to study the Master Atlantic Studies in History, Culture and Society at the University of Hannover, two reasons were decisive: on the one hand, I was attracted by the interdisciplinary nature of the program, and on the other hand, it was clear to me that I wanted to take advantage of the semester abroad integrated into the program. In the two years I took advantage of all the opportunities the program offered me, dabbled in new areas, pursued some further, discarded others, and realized my semester abroad at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. I started looking into possible fields and opportunities for work as early as my 4th semester, so I was able to seamlessly transition into the workforce after completing my 4th semester. After a year in a temporary position as a junior manager in the field of event and sports management at the German Equestrian Federation, the umbrella organization for equestrian sports, I was offered a permanent position in an international business enterprise as a manager for German equestrian sports training programs abroad (especially China), as well as event management (sports and culture in the field of equestrian sports). Here I am responsible for the conceptual planning in advance (contracts, travel coordination, cost planning, syllabi & schedules, advertising measures, sponsoring), the practical implementation on site, in cooperation with the Chinese organizer, as well as the follow-up (press releases, accounting, etc.). Even if China seems to be far away from the Atlantic, I was able to "take along" a lot from the study program for my later career and transfer it to the Pacific world. Apart from the compulsory courses, I selected all seminars in a way that seemed important to me for my professional career. Conference organization in Independent Studies, Business English as a language courses, etc. In addition, working with fellow students from different disciplines made me more aware of other perspectives and how I relate to them. In this "clash of the disciplines", the content and interpersonal discussions of the course have given me room for personal growth and how to deal with certain problems that can arise in such an environment. I have learned to deal with situations that I may not like or be comfortable with, but which I now encounter daily in my work environment and whose potential needs to be recognized and exploited. The Jamaican semester abroad, in which by far not everything worked out as planned, also prepared me very well for my projects in China - often "survival skills" were required in addition to "soft skills". I wouldn't want to miss the experiences I had there during the semester and while writing my thesis for this stay. They have led me to approach many things with unconventional solutions and a healthy dose of pragmatism. Today, I am working in the industry of my choice, also thanks to the skills I was able to acquire in the Master Atlantic Studies. Nevertheless, one should not forget that when studying a humanities subject, without a defined career profile, a certain amount of diligence and ambition, as well as internships during the studies and extracurricular involvement should not be missing. The university can't take everything away from you.

Lena Rindermann