Hi, Henrike here. You don’t know me? Well, we should change that. Formally, I’m a scientist, a science educator and communicator, and a project manager. Personally, I love taking my dog for walks on the beach, feeling the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. I’m creative, curious, a bit chaotic, often impatient, and I prefer doing things I enjoy rather than the things I should be doing or that would advance my career. But more on that later. Do you have a rough idea of who I am now? Great—then let’s get started. I’ll take you on a little journey back in time to show you what brought me to where I am today.

We begin in 2011. I finished school and followed my father’s advice to study something serious: Physics of the Earth System. I moved to Kiel for that—I’m still here, by the way, and I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon. My original plan was actually to go to drama school, but unfortunately, that didn’t work out. After several unsuccessful auditions, I gave in and prioritized my interest in science over art.

Let’s skip most of my university years, which were kind of typical: I lived in various shared flats, made lots of friends, partied, studied (of course), and pulled all-nighters before presentations and exams. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for theatre anymore. After my bachelor’s degree, I completed a master’s in climate physics, including two research cruises and several student jobs at GEOMAR.

And suddenly, it’s 2018 and I’m working on my doctoral thesis in biogeochemical modelling – specifically, “Oxygen in the Indian Ocean.” I loved my time at university and at GEOMAR. It was exciting, I learned so much, and I made incredibly close friends. But I also realized that I wasn’t necessarily one of the best phd students. I quickly lost patience with topics that didn’t interest me. I didn’t bother fixing errors in programming code or polishing graphics. I also discovered that writing academic papers – one of the core tasks of a scientist – is something I’m not particularly good at.

So after four years, when my contract at GEOMAR ended, I decided to look for something that would bring me more joy. It wasn’t an easy decision at the time, but I’m proud I had the courage to make it. Since then, my career has been anything but straightforward. In fact, I’m currently pursuing three career paths in parallel – some more actively than others.

First, I’m still working on my phd thesis. Not because I have to, but because there’s not much left to do, and I know it means a lot to some people if I actually finish it.

Secondly, I now work full-time at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Schleswig-Holstein, where I started as an intern during a period of unemployment. Together with a great colleague, I launched a two-year project in 2023 called Ocean Youngsters. The goal of the project is to motivate and empower young students to get actively involved in marine conservation. Sounds great, doesn’t it? And yes, it is—most of the time. The best part about working with young people on this topic is that they’re open to new ideas, still developing their interests and priorities, and genuinely concerned about what’s happening to our environment and oceans.

Let me zoom out briefly. Coming from a scientific background, I was used to being employed on short-term contracts. That hasn’t changed with my current project work—the conditions are similar. There are no fixed hours. What counts in the end is the result and it is up to you how much time and energy you invest.

What I really enjoy about working with my colleague is that I can delegate tasks I’m not good at – which is often difficult in science. On the downside, the job involves a lot of paperwork and responsibilities, and I spend a considerable amount of time dealing with administrative tasks. Over time, I’ve also realized that project work is often quite superficial. Even though I don’t want to work as a scientist myself, I still miss the scientific environment and the exchange of knowledge, which are rare in operational project work.

That brings us almost seamlessly to my third career path. It all began in 2022, when I presented my thesis at the Science Show during Kiel Week. I hope you’ve heard of the Science Show – if not, come see it in Kiel, it’s worth it! And maybe you’ll catch me there, because I host the shows whenever I can, and I’m very grateful to be part of the team.

Since then, I’ve trained myself to teach courses in science communication. I draw not only on my experience as a scientist, but also on my educational work with Ocean Youngsters – which connects me with diverse audiences – and most importantly, on my theatre background. Giving students and young scientists a space to try things out and explore new approaches without always having to be serious scientists is something that’s always met with great enthusiasm. Honestly, it’s what kept me going during the more difficult final months of my doctoral position.

So, what’s next? I don’t actually know. I’ll probably submit my PhD thesis at some point and finally earn the title. In any case, I’ll continue with the Ocean Youngsters follow-up project at the Böll Foundation for another 1.5 years. Hopefully, that will inspire a few young people to study Earth system physics. And I’ll see if I can give more science communication courses and maybe even earn a living from it in the long run.

Since you’ve taken the time to read all this, I’d like to leave you with a bit of advice: A well-structured CV – without gaps, quirks, or detours – isn’t everything in life. I hope you always have the courage to seek out joy in your work and in life, and to try new things.

Henrike