My year abroad was an opportunity to build my adaptability and resilience, both of which are important every day at work.
Why did you decide to study abroad?
I studied in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia on my year abroad in 2018-19. I taught English as a foreign language at Ruhrkolleg (which sadly closed in 2022). It was a college for those that wanted to return to school to complete their Abitur (German equivalent of A-Levels), and I mainly taught people in their twenties and thirties who had originally chosen not to do them.
It was a fantastic opportunity to improve my language skills and immerse myself in German culture. One of the reasons I chose to study German at the University of Sheffield was because of the opportunity to have a year abroad!
What were your top three highlights whilst studying abroad?
That is really difficult to choose just three, but I'd say my highlights were:
- Visiting over 30 different cities in Germany across the year. It was an amazing and unique opportunity to explore a new country and to learn more about a different culture. (Eat local foods, try local beer, hear different dialects, meet different people!)
- Making amazing friends on my year abroad. I am still in touch with people in Essen today. I actually re-visit Essen at least once a year to see my old friends and last year, I attended a wedding of two people I met on my year abroad in Dortmund.
- Football! I am a huge football fan and I attended 45 matches in Germany across the year! Again, what an amazing opportunity to learn more about German fan culture and do something I love whilst studying abroad. I attended VfL Bochum matches regularly due to the twinning with Sheffield. The best game I attended was Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham in Champions League Round of 16. Harry Kane scored the winner on the night which was really memorable!
What would you say to someone who was thinking about spending a period abroad?
You should absolutely go for it! It really was an incredibly special year and I look back on it so fondly. I made the most amazing memories and forged lasting friendships. Of course there were difficult times, as ultimately you are away from home at quite a young age, but I learned so much about myself and how resilient you can be.
Tell us a little about the recent Sheffield-Bochum partnership commemoration exhibition that you organised. How did you find the experience overall?
2025 marks the 75th anniversary of Sheffield’s twinning with the German city of Bochum. To celebrate this landmark, I developed and curated an exhibition in Sheffield’s Central Library, where artefacts relating to the partnership were put on display. This included artefacts from the Sheffield City Archives dating back to the 1950s and items donated by community groups that have links with Bochum such as Wisewood Junior FC, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Abbeydale Rotary and Unite the Union Brass Band.
My personal favourite was a declaration of peace signed between Sheffield and Bochum in 1983 against a further arms race in the East and West. This was closely followed by the memorabilia donated by post-punk band Poisonous Little Creatures, who played in Bochum in 1990 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Twinning.
I worked with Dr Sean Williams and student Holly Satterly from the University of Sheffield’s German Department to develop the exhibition. It was great to reconnect with my old department and create something meaningful that residents were able to enjoy.
We also held an opening event at the start of the exhibition in the Carpenter Room of the Central Library. Guests included the Lord Mayor, the German Honorary Consul for Leeds, and residents connected with the partnership.
This event was one of many taking place across 2025 to celebrate the anniversary. Other events include / included:
- Lord Mayor’s Official Civic Visit to Bochum from 23–25 May, where the Reaffirmation of Twinning was signed
- Bochum residents visit to Sheffield in September
- Opening of the Sheffield Inn in Bochum City Centre in May
- Unite the Union brass band playing at Musiksommer in August
- Wolf Safety Exhibition at Haus Kemnade June – September
- Wisewood Junior F.C. visit to DJK Adler Riemke (A Bochum-based club they have a friendship with)
Tell us a little about your internship with Sheffield City Council and how any experiences from your time spent abroad have helped you in this role?
From October 2023 – July 2025, I completed three placements at Sheffield City Council on the National Graduate Development Programme. My third placement was in the International Relations Team where I worked on the development of the Council’s International Strategy and the planning / facilitation of events in 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of Sheffield’s Twinning with Bochum.
My year abroad helped me immensely in this placement. I worked closely with colleagues at Stadt Bochum and my German language skills went a long way when interacting with them. I visited Bochum countless times on my year abroad and having a level of local knowledge really helped strengthen my relationship with colleagues. I also gained a deep understanding of the similarities between Sheffield and Bochum on my year abroad (i.e. two cities with a shared industrial heritage, large student populations, lots of green space, very friendly people) and this, again, helped a lot with the work.
On my year abroad, teaching English in a school to people much older than me really helped with my confidence and vastly improved my interpersonal skills. I also look back on my year abroad as an opportunity I had to improve my adaptability / resilience, both of which are important every day at work.