Stipendienprogramm „Paradiesvogel gesucht“ Stimmen Sie ab, bis zum 15.02.2014!

Mawista Scholarship for Extraordinary Personalities: Vote for a Winner, up to the 15.02.2014!

The countdown is about to start. We are very excited to share with you today the finalists of our Scholarship for Extraordinary Personalities.

The countdown is about to start. We are very excited to share with you today the finalists of our Scholarship for Extraordinary Personalities. To choose among so many applicants with the most peculiar backgrounds was quite a challenge, yet we made it and now proudly present in front of you the five most extraordinary Personalities for you to choose one. Remember, this scholarship can be life changing for one of these applicants and a genuine opportunity for a fresh start as the person who wins the contest will be awarded with a Scholarship of 500 Euros per month, during a 12-month period.

If you are interested to know why we chose these five, particularly, you can read about their backgrounds and previous lifestyle in the following section. It is rather inspiring! However, due to respecting the privacy of our applicants we decided to let their identities in the shadows. The stories you are about to read are very personal and intense, therefore we see no need of exposing them to the harsh virtual world of the internet. Furthermore, the whole idea of the Mawista Scholarship is to give this opportunity to someone who has struggled yet never gave up, so it’s their stories that count and not their identities.

A winner will be chosen through public vote. So, dear visitors we encourage you to vote for one and only one of the finalists, so he/she gets to start investing in the near future.

Before you vote, we strongly suggest you read the finalists backgrounds published below, in order to know which number correspond to which applicant. After you’ve made up your mind, you can go to the bottom of this page and fine the box with the five finalists. Beware, you can only chose one, so choose carefully.

Applicant/Bewerber No. 1

I am a man without a genital organ, diagnosed with ADHS and Borderline personality disorder, pansexual and a first-year university student.
I am much more than the sum of my parts. My life was and is turbulent as I am constantly driven by the wish to live a fulfilling life without compromise.
Therefor you have to face your fears, but to me this is still better than living a life that doesn’t match me. If I have learned one thing in 33 years, it is that happiness is a made-to-measure suit.

I changed my gender that didn’t match me, I quit my studies at the university of applied sciences that made me miserable, I chucked my secure job that didn’t fulfill me, I moved away from friends and family to do something, that many people advised against: with 33 I began to study biology.
It is not always easy to tackle the obstacles that occur, but after overcoming them I am always proud and I feel fulfilled. I couldn’t live a different life.
Bring on the obstacles!

Applicant/Bewerber No. 2

My special voice makes me fancy. Even though I cannot speak with my own voice, talking is my calling. I am physically handicapped; speak with the help of a communication device and campaign for people not being able to communicate with their own voice. In my daily life, I am supported by assistants that are organized by my own budget.

It hasn’t been an easy way from the special school to university. Today I live in my own apartment and study educational sciences. Next to this I am holding lectures on national and international congresses about my experiences with alternative augmentative communication (AAC) and I am working on different projects for AAC research and advisory centers.
After having finished my bachelor degree I want to graduate in rehabilitation sciences to get my master’s degree and advance the research in AAC. I hope that people not being able to speak can profit from my own experiences and the knowledge I gained during my studies.

I give my consent that my application data will be processed and stored in the database.

Applicant/Bewerber No. 3

In 2002, I fled Turkey to avoid oppression from the Turkish government. I came to Germany seeking asylum and social freedoms that I did not have in Turkey. I was a political prisoner and victim of repeated torture by the Turkish government for 8 years. I was finally able to flee when I was released briefly due to my poor health.

Although I had passed the university entrance examinations in Turkey, I was denied the right to study for political reasons. In Germany I completed my A-levels again, as my Turkish certificates were not recognized. During the asylum procedure, I wasn’t allowed to study. However, I can now live my dream of studying with the acceptance of my application for asylum in July 2013.

Why should I apply for this scholarship?
Because it would allow me to fully concentrate on my dream and continue to be involved in social projects. Because of the language barrier and my post-traumatic stress disorder (as a result of torture), my studies are more burdensome and time-consuming than for a normal student, but I’m ready to work as hard as I can to achieve my dreams.

Applicant/Bewerber No. 4

I am 29 years old and I really am a bird of paradise, because I am handicapped, sitting in a wheelchair, and I am studying in the 19th semester at the third university.

Initially, I wanted to become a teacher but I had to abort the qualification period (“Referendariat”) in 2011 due to health problems. Already in 2008 I had begun to study Psychology (B.Sc.) part-time at the “FernUniversität” in Hagen (a distance university) and after this disappointment it became clear to me, that I really wanted to be a psychologist. Thus, I intensified my efforts. Alongside, I worked as a research assistant and as a course instructor in an adult education center (VHS), and finally graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a grade of 1.4.

Now, I have started my full-time master studies at the University of Heidelberg and, as this is very stressful and exhausting, I feel that I do not manage to work part-time besides anymore. Unfortunately, my job as research assistant has been terminated on the 31th of December 2013, so that I don’t have any income right now.
I would be so happy, if I received this scholarship, so that I could focus completely on my master studies.

Applicant/Bewerber No. 5

I am from Guinea. I never learned informatics at school and I never had access to a computer. Nevertheless, I started studying informatics at the Technical University of Berlin. I gave my very best to understand everything and inquired a lot. Unfortunately, the professors had only little time to discuss.

To add to the difficulty, I have to finance my studies myself which leaves me less time for studying. After two semesters, I changed to Freie Universität Berlin hoping that the courses would be more accessible and conditions would better allow for reconciling my studies with my job. Since informatics continued to fascinate me, I chose a specialization in bioinformatics. Currently, I have to get up every day at 3:55h to go to work. Sometimes I am so tired that I fall asleep during lectures.

When I think about my situation my heart aches. As the only one from Guinea who studies bioinformatics in Germany, I so much wish that I will be able to pass on my knowledge to the future generations in Guinea.

Mawista announce the winner of the Scholarship for Extraordinary Personalities