Awos Alziadat - Foundation Student From Jordan
Yana Immis
Meet Awos Alziadat. He is studying & working in Germany. His dream is to work for Airbus. You can read his study in Germany success story here.
| Place of Birth | Amman, Jordan |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Jordanian |
| Where did you live? | Amman (Jordan), Winnipeg (Canada) |
| Education Level Prior to Relocation | Sport College Diploma |
| Reason of moving to Germany | Foundation Program |
| When did you move? | 2018 |
| How old were you? | 21 |
| Are you still in Germany? | Yes |
| What is your current occupation? | 1st Year Bachelor Student |
| What is your future goal? | Master Degree, Risk Management or HR Job in Aviation Industry |
| Would you like to stay in Germany? | Yes |
Chapter 1: Amman
I am a family person. I have 2 sisters, who are two queens for me, and I must treat them like that. I cannot spend a day without calling them. We are very close.
I lived almost my entire life in Jordan, but the road took me to Canada and Germany afterward.
I was in love with everything related to business. I am very proud of my father, who started as a high school manager and achieved #2 School Rank in Jordan.
Back in 1st grade, I started Taekwondo and 10 years later I reached Black belt rank and then I competed on the country level and scored 4th place. I also played soccer and loved it. Any kind of sport was always 2nd choice though because at the end of the day, sport in Jordan is not developed much and I started to lose motivation.
My father was teaching me chess and we used to play for fun. I never won, until I started taking it seriously. You need to guess 10 steps of the person in front of you and you need to have at least 2 solutions for each step that he might take. It takes time. At some point, you learn to understand the consequences and you shape the strategic thinking. I achieved high scores in chess as well, it started off with winning a bronze medal in my city.
At 17 I decided to pursue my dreams and I made a deal with my father and I am very thankful to him. I wanted to be independent, that’s why I chose to go out of my comfort zone, move and study far away in Canada. The terms were very simple: “If you are not successful, you will go back to Jordan”.
Since then I haven’t travelled home much. When I go back home, I notice, that many things remained the same, but I changed and became more open-minded. I became distant with many of my old friends. I assume it is called growing up.
Chapter 2: Winnipeg
I went to Canada, I was young, I was like WOW!
I chose a college for sports (soccer) and aviation. My father stressed that I need to focus on studies – I need to make a balance, but I only managed to give 10-20% of my time to studies.
Sport occupied 80% of my time because we were so desperate to make it as a soccer team. We were the only Canadian team in the States league. There was a moment when I wasn’t sure if I want to continue with aviation or sports, after a loss in semi-finals.
On the one side, it was a nice experience, as I got to travel a lot and met a lot of people from all over the world. Every weekend I used to go to the States with my team. Sometimes we stayed up to a month at a time.
On the other side, looking back at my 2.5-year tenure in Canada, I was not happy. The reason why I wasn’t happy wasn’t due to the unfinished sports career or overwhelming education choices, I simply did not fit in. Maybe due to the cultural differences or maybe because I am a very straight forward person.
Living on the university campus, everyone was close to each other and I couldn’t have my own space. There was no privacy or “Me Time”. I couldn’t really match the way Canadians behave. If I was silent, people would ask me why or if I was sad. When no reply followed, they would assume I was mad. Whatever I would reply, they would think there is a problem.
I was not sad, I was not mad, I had no problems, I just wanted to think and read in peace and quiet.
I figured, no, this is not for me. This is not the way I am thinking, and this is not the location I like. The decision has been made. I came back home, started researching the best countries to study business in the whole world and I chose Germany.
Chapter 3: Munich
First impressions: I absolutely love it.
I chose Applied Sciences school. I like professors who teach management based on their experience and not limiting us to books or a bunch of theories from 20 years ago. I like Marketing, Negotiation and Human Resources classes. Especially I like that HR can influence management decisions. Currently, I am on a hunt for more knowledge!
Me coming here after this while might have been planned for me from the beginning because this is where I belong. The surroundings and the people around highly affect young people who are still discovering life. Young people from Jordan would love Germany, I am sure.
I like to have people next to me who are straightforward. I realized early enough that Germans are like that. I have a lot of German friends here and my best friend is Bavarian from Munich! Germany is perfect for me. Yes, I must admit, it took me a while to become friends with Germans, but it was so much worth it!
I respect people who give you personal space and who know how to divide their serious and fun times. This is exactly what I have craved for in Canada. Every morning until 8 or 9 am I am having “my time” to read books, news, concentrate and think about how to organize my day.
I am doing my Bachelor studies full-time now, keeping up my sport routine and working on a side in Starbucks as barista/cashier. I always wanted to work to support my living expenses, because I want to be independent and to afford shopping and travelling without asking my parents. When I spend my parents’ money it does not feel right.
The other day, I went to Starbucks to meet my friend, Gaurav. He proposed that I work there, and he talked to Manager for me, who was also searching for a tenant. So, I landed a job and a flat in one day after my arrival to Germany.
I will finish my Bachelor Program in 2.5 years. After I graduate, I will go right away to do my Master Degree and I am never leaving Bavaria. If I am to go around all the places around in the world, nothing is going to be more attractive for me than Munich.
One of my dreams is to work in Airbus. I enjoy reading about this company: their corporate social governance and how Airbus wants to change the whole perspective of the flights: when the concept of travelling from A to B will take into consideration Earth movements.
A month ago, I had a conversation with my father. He is one of the few people, that can influence me. He offered me to consider risk management. I quickly got excited about that topic and did a small 50 slides power point presentation for myself to understand it.
Now I have more ideas about my 4th Semester Internship. You need to be creative and strategic in your thinking, like in soccer, like in chess. Not many people would go for Risk Management job because people are scared that if something goes wrong, they would be the only ones to blame.
I have a goal in my life – I don’t want to be regular and that sounds like a perfect job for me. Let’s give it a try!
One of my sisters lives in the North of Germany with her family and I recently became an uncle – it is a big responsibility. I am incredibly happy, and I feel that I have to be the example of this little boy.
