Do an apprenticeship, study at the same time and also have a child? By no means impossible for Carolin Berger. According to the 27-year-old, it was always clear that she wanted to start her own family. At the same time, however, she did not want to be restricted in her professional career. So she was the first mother to complete a training course at the Bundeswehr University in Neubiberg. It included training at the Versicherungskammer München and at the same time doing civilian studies at the Bundeswehr University in economics and organizational sciences – and during this time she gave birth to her daughter.
When she was temporarily not even able to use the childcare place for her daughter during the corona pandemic, the young woman from Alling in the Fürstenfeldbruck district by no means stuck her head in the sand. It was clear to her that she wanted to combine family and work even under the difficult conditions. Because she succeeded, the university awarded her the “Studying with a Child” prize. With this and other awards, the university wants to highlight special achievements apart from grades. Sven Bäring was rewarded for his commitment to diversity with the newly awarded Diversity Prize. The student is chairman of the Queer-BW association.
The Bundeswehr University honors its students every year for special scientific achievements, but also in other areas. Carolin Berger from Allingen has shown that you can also master a demanding course of study with a family. In 2017, the family service center of the university created the “Studying with a child” award. “It was important to us to also put students with family responsibilities in the spotlight,” explains Pamela Koch, civil equal opportunities officer at the university. It is commendable if they reconcile the two, still get a great degree and did it under difficult conditions such as the pandemic. With the Diversity Prize, which the Equal Opportunities Office launched in 2021, the Equal Opportunities Office wants to make another special commitment visible. “We want to use it to honor people who are involved in the field of diversity for their voluntary work,” says Koch.
During the day the mother takes care of her children, in the evening and at night she studies
“Work, training and studies – that’s quite a hard cycle,” says Carolin Berger, the young mother. She ended up graduating three degrees in five years, with top grades. The fact that she was unable to place her daughter, who was born in 2019, in the crèche as planned due to the 2021 pandemic and instead had to look after her at home for almost a year parallel to the master’s degree, which she had started in January 2021, did not deter her from her plan. “It was a challenge, but it was also very nice,” says the mother of two. She looked after her daughter during the day and studied in the evenings and at night. During exam phases, her husband and grandparents took care of her so that she could take part in the exams.
Berger also mastered another challenge, because during the second pregnancy with her son, who was born last year, she had serious health problems. The certificate and the 500 euros in prize money mean all the more to her. “It’s a recognition of my performance over the past few years,” says the 27-year-old. It is important for her to show that women have the same opportunities as men. “With the award, even more attention will be drawn to it.”
Sven Bäring (second from left) is chairman of the Queer-BW association and received the Bundeswehr University’s Diversity Prize from Vice President Karl-Heinz Renner (left). Ellen Schmid, spokeswoman for the Advisory Board for Equal Opportunities and Diversity, and Alfred Lehner, Chairman of the Friends of the University of the Bundeswehr, also attended the award ceremony.
(Photo: University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich)
This visibility of his own concern, which his award brings, is also important to Sven Bäring, who completed his studies in electrical engineering and information technology at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Neubiberg in 2022 and is now working for the Federal Ministry of Defense’s flight readiness service in Cologne/Bonn. The officer is national chairman of the Queer-BW association and received the honorary diversity award from the Advisory Board for Equal Opportunities and Diversity at the university and the Friends of the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich. This honors the commitment of the 28-year-old in the association, which works for the interests of homosexual, bisexual, transgender, intergender and members of the Bundeswehr of the opposite sex.
Those who were gay were either fired or not promoted
A success in which the association was significantly involved: the passing of the law for the rehabilitation of homosexual soldiers in 2021. Until 2000, homosexuality was a criterion that contradicted suitability for the Bundeswehr. If it came out that soldiers were gay, Bäring says they were fired; after that they were at least not promoted anymore. “Our focus is on eliminating existing discrimination and protecting against discrimination in the future,” says Bäring, who is homosexual himself.
With the association, he has significantly promoted the topic of diversity in the Bundeswehr, as was recognized at the award ceremony. At the University of Neubiberg, for example, he organized a reading with the author Jens Schadendorf, who wrote the book “Gayme Changer,” which is about queer executives. Bäring wants the club to benefit from the prize money of 1,000 euros. The Bundeswehr officer knows how important his work is and that of the whole association. “The award is a strong recognition that underlines that our work is seen and valued.”