December 28, 2020
There are still a few months to go until the Art Fest begins, but Adriana Martinez is already in the middle of preparations. The art exhibition brings together people from all over Germany and students from Jacobs University Bremen. The 20-year-old from Honduras studies International Business Administration at the English-speaking university. She is one of the organizers of the event. But that’s not all: she is also a committed intercultural trainer as well as a defender of human dignity for a worldwide operating youth organization.
Art plays an important role at Jacobs University, since the Art Club is one of the most active student clubs with a long tradition on the campus in northern Bremen. The club is organizing the annual Art Fest, one of the largest student organized art exhibitions in Bremen. "No matter what we study, we are united by our passion for art," Adriana said.
She loves to paint colorful acrylic paintings, reflecting her own cheerfulness, with motifs from her home country Honduras. Adriana's love for art stems from her childhood. She has been painting since she was eleven, attending an art class several times a week and participating in numerous art exhibitions.
Her paintings will be on display in April, at the upcoming Art Fest, which will take place in a hybrid online and in-person format. The motto is: "The Future in our Hands". "We want to raise awareness to the social, ecological and economic problems that our generation is currently facing," Adriana explained. There are also plans to hold a local art competition for interested high school students.
Despite her love for art, she has never seriously considered studying art. "I wanted to do something to contribute to positive changes and the development ". So, she decided to study International Business Administration at Jacobs University, although she was accepted to several universities in different countries. "I compared the study conditions and Jacobs University was simply the best option for me.”
Adriana is now in her third and final year of study. She is enjoying her time at Jacobs University very much. "I think the holistic approach is great. The study program is international, interdisciplinary and very practice-oriented. Now, for example, I'm attending a course in international marketing, which deals with the question of how to establish a new product in a foreign market.”
She also appreciates the environment at Jacobs University with its students from over 110 countries. Her roommate on campus comes from Senegal – of course both of them are also good friends. Jacobs University offered Adriana the opportunity to further develop her intercultural competences. Today she is a certified intercultural trainer. She is furthermore involved in the Jacobs Startup Competition, which is organized by the students themselves. Adriana helps with the recruitment of participants for early-stage startups. She also has a part time job: as a student assistant to Christoph Lattemann, Professor of Business Administration and Information Management at Jacobs University.
And she is involved as a defender of human dignity in the World Youth Alliance, a non-profit, globally active youth organization. Its goal is to internationally promote respect for human dignity. The organization cooperates with the United Nations and the European Union, among others. As a certified trainer, Adriana conducts weekly online workshops with young people from Germany and discusses topics such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with them.
Adriana will graduate next summer. She does not know yet exactly what she will do after that. She would like to do a master's degree or work in the creative industry. But she already knows exactly that she wants to return to Honduras. According to her, Honduras is affected by a "brain drain", by the emigration of young, educated people. She would like to help ensure that women have better opportunities for advancement. "My home country has given me a lot, I would like to give something back."
Further information about the Art Fest:
https://artfestjacobs.com/
Adriana's Art on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ammb.art/
This text is part of the series "Faces of Jacobs", in which Jacobs University introduces students, alumni, professors and staff. Further episodes can be found at https://www.jacobs-university.de/faces.