Anisa Shaikh

Looking back, what did you most enjoy about your time at Bard College Berlin/what had the biggest impact on you while studying at Bard College Berlin?

I actually spent most of my time at what was the European College of Liberal Arts before it became Bard College Berlin. I then graduated and did my final year as a BCB student. I enjoyed the immersion, at first I struggled with how small it was (we were less than 20 in total) but I came to realize the conversations, the bonds, the reflections unfolded perhaps for that reason. I wouldn't have had that without the little bubble. The biggest impact, was probably that it brought me to a place I might never have ended up, I learned, I loved, and built a life for myself in Berlin.

How would you describe, in a nutshell, the experience of studying at BCB?

Challenging in every sense - frustratingly so, beautifully so.

Write briefly about one of your courses that left a lasting impression on you.

This won't be as brief and not about one course. Geoff Lehman inspired my absurd obsession with the picturesque, Laura Scuriatti the inquiry into modernism and post colonial thought, Matthias Hurst for showing me to how watch movies with a gentle dissection rather than brute analysis, Bartholomew Ryan for whistling while I worked, Tracy Colony for the wonder and validation in tiny realizations, David Hayes for shaving my cluster of thoughts into sharpened nibs, Thomas Norgaard for holding ethics up to stark light in any context (others and my own), Bruno Macaes for taking the stigma out of approaching modern day politics without cringing, Dirk Ehnts for how to make friends with Germany, David Levine for engaging with space and feelings in a way I hadn't previously imagined.

How has BCB influenced the path you've taken since completing the program?

I could speak of the thinking and writing and texts which were all part of an internal constellation that fanned out without my even fully realizing it. However, ultimately for me - my place was not in academia, it was in supporting students for the rest of my career which I have done diligently and well. It helped me form questions without always waiting for an answer.

Where are you now and what are you doing?

I live in Kreuzberg, Berlin (still). I work in education over a decade now and for the last 5 years in ed-tech. I am a program developer/manager, student support, and career specialist.

Any advice you would give to students considering BCB?

It's a dynamic institution with experts in their field curating journeys rather than a curriculum. It has an incredibly diverse student body in what is arguably one of the most interesting cities in the world to live in. It gives you an escape but puts you at the centre of it. Choose this over the big, traditional uni experience - you won't get lost unless that is what you want.