I had an interest in theatre and poetry and thought that literature and language are a useful key to understanding culture and people. And I still do believe that. I came to Basel because it was further away from home than Zurich.

Towards the end of my studies I realized that I wanted to know more about how the business world worked, especially global financial markets. Markets seemed to have a huge impact on life and society, and I expected that working in business would teach me a lot that I could not learn at university. From the skills learnt at university, I now benefit most from doing thorough research on a wide range of subjects, presenting and defending my ideas, debating my findings and opinions and learning to deal with other people’s points of view.

Writing is the key to communications, even in the age of online media and video. While at university, try to find jobs, even unpaid jobs, that give you experience in non-academic writing and editing. Try to spend most of your time with things that you really are interested in.  Study humanities only out of genuine interest and passion for the subject matter. Humanities can be the basis for a career, but they are much more insightful and gratifying if you view them as a way of life.

Be prepared for the fact that you will not really understand most of the texts that you read for your studies. Some of them you will only understand several years after you graduate. In other words, there are a lot of things you just cannot understand the first time, so be patient.

I like to remember the long nights and weekends spent as a “gay beggar” at the cellar theatre and all the barbecues in the courtyard of the Schönes Haus.