Meet the Team
November 9, 2021

Karen

My story at Evonik and how I came to Young Spirit

In the summer of 2018, I finished my apprenticeship as an ‘Management Assistant for Office Communication’ at Evonik and was subsequently hired by Evonik. During my apprenticeship, I got to know many different departments and was thus able to build on my strengths - and at the same time I have recognized where I can develop further. For example, Evonik apprentices change their departments about every three months. This change has always been an enrichment for me. I got to know many of Evonik's employees and had the opportunity to build up a large network within the company, get to know the various departments of a company and oriented myself professionally. For young people, this is an important factor in determining what suits them best. After my apprenticeship, I initially worked as an assistant in the Customer Interface & Development department in Essen Goldschmidt. Recently, I moved to the Evonik site in Marl, where I work as a caseworker in the department that organized the company’s pension planning

How did I hear about Young Spirit?

My mother brought Young Spirit to my attention. She has been a Young Spirit mentor since the beginning and has conducted experiments at my primary school from time to time. She showed us what chemistry can 'do' at all. In the 8th grade I started to help with 'Young Spirit' events and to support my mother. For example, in my little sister's kindergarten, at the ‘Wissensnacht’ in Essen or during the Evonik Summer Program. I simply enjoy sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm with others. So it was obvious for me to become a 'Young Spirit' mentor when I started my apprenticeship at Evonik. Meanwhile, I even have fixed events that take place annually and where I am active as a 'Young Spirit’ mentor. For example, at the secondary school in Haltern am See. Once a year, I help to bring the word 'chemistry' closer to the 6th grades and experiment with the children for a day. It is exciting to see what kind of reactions the experiments cause in the children. From astonishment to riddle about how the individual experiments work - everything is included. Of course, it takes a lot of time, but the results and reactions I receive from the children are priceless.