Karolina's letter of motivation

We grow when we face challenges and I love challenging myself. My name is Karolina, I am 24 years old and I come from Poland. Right after graduating high school I knew I wanted to study abroad. I strived to get out of my comfort zone, experience new cultures and languages, meet new people. My dream was to study medicine. Luckily, I got accepted into an English Medical School in Rome, Italy.

I moved to Rome in 2016 without knowing any Italian. This was definitely a challenge, since none of the languages that I already knew (Polish, English, German) seemed particularly useful. I had no family there and no friends. I was all alone. Rarely meeting any English speakers lead to an initial struggle in communication, however it motivated me to study Italian.

After four years in the Eternal City, I decided to apply for an exchange program to Bonn, Germany. Another challenge. The competition was quite fierce. The only two parameters taken into consideration were the grade average and language certificates. Thankfully, I got accepted and could not hide the excitement of living in yet another country.

As a medical student in particular this scholarship and stay in Germany gives me an incredible opportunity to experience the healthcare system in a different country. It will definitely expand my horizons and improve my education not only on an academic level, but also from a social standpoint. Making new friends in completely different settings will benefit my social-interaction skills that are useful every day, especially for doctors.

Social media is also an important part of my life, since I am very active on Instagram. I started the page called @med.rome focusing mainly on helping high school students get familiar with the application process to Italian medical programs in English. Later on, I decided to also document my journey and studies. I wanted to share my personal experience and show that medical students not only study, but also have time for hobbies and extracurricular activities. In my case it included taking part in and organizing conferences, whilst improving my public speaking and organization skills. I definitely feel comfortable within the digital world and like communicating with other people.

I believe that I am best suited for this scholarship because I am highly motivated – I want to improve my German language skills, experience living in a new country, encounter a different healthcare system, meet new people and make life-long friends - all while sharing my journey on social media.