Nina Rausch, 19 years old, from Ochsenfurt, completed her voluntary social year at the church youth work (kja) of the Diocese of Würzburg
“After graduating from high school last year, I didn’t really know what to do with myself or which direction to go in, so I decided to do the voluntary social year. I worked in the youth work and school department and went on class trips and tutor training courses with school classes. I helped organize the trips and prepared materials for games or new methods.
At the beginning, it was strange for me not to be in the role of a student, but as the person in charge. The students were often not much younger than me. And the daily work routine and a 40-hour week were completely new to me. But the team was really supportive and gave me time to get used to things. Now, towards the end, I’ve taken on more and more responsibility and organized training courses almost on my own.
Without my voluntary social year, I would probably have started studying something just for the sake of studying and I wouldn’t have been happy with it. From October onwards, I will be studying to become a primary school teacher for special needs education. I only found out about it through the voluntary social year and would therefore recommend that everyone do one. During the voluntary social year, I learned what I want and what I don’t want.”
Clemens Morich, 22 years old, from Wettstetten, did his voluntary social year at the Ingolstadt Clinic
“After graduating from high school, I studied industrial engineering for two semesters and quickly realized that it wasn’t really for me. I’ve always been interested in medicine, but I thought I had no chance. I wanted to do the voluntary social year to see whether I liked everyday hospital life and whether I could imagine doing it as a career. And at some universities, the voluntary social year is credited towards the allocation of places for medicine courses.
In the hospital, I worked on the nephrology and vascular surgery wards and supported the nursing staff there. I measured blood pressure, handed out food and helped with the patients’ personal hygiene. I was a bit hesitant about personal hygiene at first, but that eventually became completely normal for me. My highlight was definitely being able to watch operations. I was very impressed by how precisely and quickly the doctors work.
The voluntary social year made me more disciplined and structured. I had no idea what a real working day was like before. I had a really good time during the voluntary social year and would recommend it to anyone. The year showed me once again that it’s a cool job that the doctors do there and that I want to do it too. And I got a place at university. From October I’ll be studying medicine in Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.”
Rebecca Jantzin, 20 years old, from Berlin, was doing her voluntary social year at the children’s and youth rheumatism clinic in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
“I wanted to take a little time off after graduating from high school last year, maybe spend a year abroad. And because I might want to study teaching, I thought it would be a good idea to do something with children and get a taste of the field. At the clinic, I’m in the social services department, which means I’m involved in child and youth care. But I and the other volunteer were also deployed in the medical warehouse and in building services. That gave us the opportunity to get to know completely different areas, which was really cool and very varied.
In the kindergarten and the clinic’s leisure center, we painted T-shirts with the children, baked together, and organized afternoon games. I had a particularly good connection with a group of friends in the leisure center. It was a great feeling to realize that I could be a confidant for them and a valuable experience for me. The voluntary social year has made me much more independent and self-confident.
I was also able to do a week-long nursing internship on the ward. That was my absolute highlight. I’m now going to start studying nursing at the Charité in Berlin. I would never have done that before the voluntary social year because I thought it wasn’t for me. The voluntary social year is not just a gap-filler. Especially if you already know that you want to do something social, it’s worth gaining a bit of professional experience.”
Iven Alheidt, 21 years old, from Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, did his voluntary social year in the workshop for disabled people of Regens Wagner Hohenwart in Pfaffenhofen
“I decided to do the voluntary social year because I wanted to get to know what everyday working life was like. I wanted to know what to expect. And because I’ve always enjoyed working with people, I wanted to try something social. That’s just my thing.
I was a group leader assistant during my voluntary social year. We work with the Wirth company and I helped sort screws and stick labels on boxes. And I checked whether everything was always done correctly. I liked taking care of the work-related activities the most. So I thought about what else we could do here in the workshop alongside work. I organized a table football tournament or, in keeping with the European Championships, a goal-wall shooting competition.
During my voluntary social year, I learned that it’s okay to make mistakes and that it’s completely normal. That shaped me and motivated me to try new things. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do after my voluntary social year. Maybe medical training. But I definitely want to stay in the social sector.”
Marie Ritter, 20 years old, from Feldkahl near Aschaffenburg, completed her voluntary social year at the diocesan department for altar boy work in the diocese of Würzburg
“Last year after graduating from high school, I didn’t want to start studying straight away. I saw the opportunity to get a taste of a field during my voluntary social year. In the department for altar boy work, I was now the contact person for events relating to altar boys. This year was special because we went on a pilgrimage to Rome at the beginning of August. This only happens every four years and since December we have only been busy planning the pilgrimage.
I am very happy that I caught the year of the pilgrimage to Rome. I always wanted to see how much effort goes into it. After all, we were on the road with 1,600 participants and 21 buses. During the preparation, I was mainly involved in the registration process and the social media presence. I particularly enjoyed the creative part – brainstorming and thinking of games or methods for the pilgrimage.
During my voluntary social year, I learned that it is important to set priorities in everyday work and to weigh up tasks. That it is also completely OK to leave work aside sometimes. This fall, I am starting a course to become a primary school teacher here in Würzburg. I had already had my eye on this before, but the voluntary social year has confirmed it. Anyone who has the chance and the opportunity to do a voluntary social year should definitely try it out. You learn so much for the rest of your life and, at the same time, you are not only doing something for yourself, but also something for society.”