WE are happy to present the winners of the AYF Alumni Club Art & Writing Conest 2018: Michael Makowski and Kirsten Koehler

By Kimberley Mueller & Karin Jors, Chair and Vice-Chair, AYF Alumni & Friends e.V.

At the recent AYF Farewell BBQ, three students were presented with Alumni Club Awards:Zachary Schinske received the AYF Alumni & Friends Achievement Award 2018. The inaugural Art & Writing Contest Winners for 2018 are Michael Makowski and Kirsten Koehler. Karin Jors, Vice-Chair of the German Chapter of the AYF Alumni club, presented the winners of the 2018 Art & Writing Contest at the AYF Farewell BBQ in Freiburg. 

Today is the first time that we are presenting prizes for the „AYF Alumni & Friends Art & Writing Contest“ and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results of the contest. For the Art & Writing Contest, we asked students to reflect on what makes Freiburg HOME for them and received distinctly different contributions which spoke deeply to us.

We hope these works, a painting and a video, give you pleasure, too.

“Although the towering Münster, Feierling beer, and a daily, one-euro scoop of ice cream have shaped my experience,” writes Michael Makowski, “it is the nature of and around Freiburg that has left the deepest impression on me. Known as an ‘eco-city’, Freiburg is indeed shaped by its nature. More specifically, the Black Forest–der Schwarzwald. Freiburg’s proximity to the forest is my favorite part about having a home here. A hike into the woods is where I can find quiet and solace for myself, or where I can bring friends to show them the valleys and city from above. It is up the hills that I run, draw, sit, and write. Even after ten months of living here, I am still impressed with the beauty that is so easily accessible. Twenty minutes from my Wohngemeinschaft and I am in the hills, looking down at pastel fields and shadowy forest. From up here, even the Münster looks small and humble. When I look back at my time in Freiburg, it will be these moments in Freiburg’s nature that will most speak of ‘home’.

“This painting is of Schönberg, literally ‘beautiful mountain’. My apartment is located in Vauban, a neighborhood nestled up to the mountain, and I’ve spent much time up and around it. I love living in Vauban, because I know Schönberg is only a short hike away.”

Kirsten Koehler, on the other hand, submitted a video. She describes her experience with the year-long project as follows: “I started making this One Second Everyday video on October 1st, 2017, because I realized the first month had gone by so quickly, that I knew if I didn’t do anything to document my ‘Alltag,’ it would suddenly be August and I would have nothing to represent my time in Freiburg.  Since then, I have taken one second of video every day (with some special days where I recorded two videos).  Some major events you can see are:

October: went to Paris to visit my friend Catherine; semester begins

November: visited Catherine again in Glasgow, Scotland; Weihnachtsmarkt opens

December: my boyfriend, Jordan, visited for Christmas

January: Berlin excursion with the AYF history class

February: Hausarbeiten

March: Laura (fellow AYFer) and I visit Thessaloniki, Greece; my family comes to Germany to visit

April: home in the U.S. for one week

May: trip to Malaga, Spain with Laura

June: weather begins to get better, festival season

July: end of the semester; beginning of the goodbyes and farewell parties

“As I went, I tried to include ‘normal’ moments of everyday life, such as hanging out with friends and home-cooked meals, but also captured the more unique moments and landmarks of my travels.”

You can view this wonderful, charming video of a student’s year in Freiburg and beyond on YouTube.

Congratulations to Michael and Kirsten, our first Winners of the AYF Alumni Art & Writing Contest!