Love at second sight: How Witten became the right place to study for Cara Wegerer
From "small-town" scepticism to great solidarity: Cara Wegerer, a psychology student at UW/H, explains how she found openness, cultural diversity and space for her own projects in Witten.
When Cara Wegerer started her bachelor's degree in psychology at Witten/Herdecke University in spring 2020, coronavirus was in full swing. Online lectures, no time on site, no move to Witten. Instead, the Stuttgart native stayed in Sicily, where she couldn't leave at the time, and spent the first few months studying digitally from there. Then, in the summer, she finally went to UW/H for the examinations. And also to the room she had rented from the start.
She found it via the online platform WG-Gesucht, and the search went quickly and smoothly. Arriving, however, was a bit of a culture shock. From the big city of Stuttgart to the much smaller town of Witten. To the Ruhr region, with its completely different architecture that doesn't exactly impress with its beauty; with local transport that can't keep up with Stuttgart.
And yet arriving was "extremely easy" for Cara. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that she had made her first contacts via the screen - even though her studies could only take place online until then. And also because of her inner attitude: "I was really ready. The fact that the city is small made it easy for me. I was met with such warmth and openness. I think I still had the Sicilian sun in me and radiated it; but that's exactly what I got back." In shops and cafés, she was greeted and welcomed warmly. "It was easy to come in here and find your place. I really learnt to love Witten and discovered lots of great corners that aren't visible at first glance."
Individuality and living your own way
She particularly likes the proximity to nature, the raum café and Café Leye with its large sun terrace on the roof. The cultural programme surprised Cara: "I thought there wouldn't be so much going on in a smaller town. And yes, the frequency is not that high, but there are still lots of events, be it two-hour parties or artistic activities." Shortly after her arrival, she took part in an art exhibition at the Projektfabrik, met many new, inspiring people and realised that her individual concerns had a place in Witten and that she could develop.
However, when it became clear that the 2020/21 winter semester would also take place online, Cara did not continue with her studies for the time being. "I always had so many interests and the idea of only being able to specialise in one thing was terrible for me. That's why the idea of Studium fundamentale at the UW/H particularly appealed to me. And the high practical relevance was important to me." When she read on the website about self-reflection in the first semester of the psychology degree programme and about the perceptual internship, in which students put themselves in unfamiliar situations and adopt new perspectives, she was convinced. "That didn't just sound like memorising, but about experiences that are really useful."
However, all these expectations could hardly be fulfilled during the coronavirus semesters. She therefore decided to take a break, turned her passion into an appointment and started her own business as a photographer. In 2024, she also studied for a semester at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. She liked the city, was fascinated by the campus and the lectures with more than 200 students. And yet she felt a longing for Witten, for the kind of exchange, for the people with their own special personalities. "People here always talk about the Witten spirit and the fact that people bring something very individual with them. I find that hard to grasp - and at the same time I realised that I was missing it. The environment in Witten motivates me to really think about and discuss things and not just focus on exam content and passing." That's why Cara contacted the Psychology Admissions Office at UW/H - and was able to continue her studies in Witten. "It was such a nice feeling to realise that once the university has chosen you, they see something in you and you can just come back. That made me feel very valued."
Combining studies and photography
She moved into her old room, which had been sublet in the meantime, and continued with renewed motivation. Cara's initial expectations of growing into a very deep person at the UW/H, of living freedom, truth and social responsibility as fundamental values of the university, of really getting into discussions, developing and defending her own stance or continuing her education in a variety of Stufu courses were not completely fulfilled - "who would have thought that," she says. But it has worked to some extent, in some courses such as the perceptual internship, in Studium fundamentale or through the insights into different schools of therapy that she gained in her psychology degree programme. "We studied humanistic psychotherapy, for example, and looked at how this movement looks at people and thus shapes therapy. We were then asked to write down our own view of humanity. That was very personal and at the same time so important for our work. The university offers you opportunities for personal development - but you are responsible for utilising them yourself."
One way that Cara found for herself was to combine photography and studying. "For me, it's really valuable that qualitative research in psychology is carried out here, and that's where I really caught fire. I photographed androgynous faces. And then researched how people perceive this ambiguity and deal with it, what their tolerance for ambiguity is. This is really my own project; the one that inspires me, where I put a lot of photographic work into it. And then I conducted and analysed these interviews, made references and consulted literature. That really enriched me. And I know that wouldn't have been possible at most universities."
Cara is currently working on her Bachelor's thesis. Even though she has found her place in Witten and at UW/H, she is drawn to another city for her Master's degree, to something new. Because the longing for the big city has never completely disappeared. However, she can well imagine staying in NRW, "I really like the mentality here, the language, the directness, I like that."
