"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy
Author Bio
My name is Christoph Jappsen, and I am 20 years old. I come from Tønder, Denmark and graduated from Tønder Gymnasium (high school equivalent) in 2015. Besides going to school I worked at McDonald's Tønder for six years from the age of 14 till the age of 20. I was promoted to shift manager at age 18, and therefore took leadership courses at McDonald's Denmark's HQ in Copenhagen and helped to develop strategies to enhance the performance of the restaurant.
I am interested in societal interactions and hence used to be involved in Danish youth politics as well as cross-border youth politics between Denmark and Germany, the latter being especially interesting for me due to my mixed Danish and German ancestry. I was also fortunate enough to interview the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, Rufus Gifford, in connection with his visit to Tønder. In further pursuit of my interests, I am currently studying International Relations & Philosophy at the University of St Andrews.
About
Hometown
Tønder, Denmark
Lives
St Andrews, Scotland
High School Education
STX, Tønder Gymnasium, Denmark
Studying
MA International Relations & Philosophy
Graduating
2020
Extracurriculars
Handball, Investment Society
Interests
Politics, philosophy, stock trading, and a good book.
Future Plans
I would like to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
About University of St Andrews
Faculty
Multi faculty
Campus
Mid/small city university
Sa Ranking
Top Tier
Status
Ancient Scottish
Country
United Kingdom
Founded
1413
Students
10000
Famous Alumni
Prince William & Kate Middleton, Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond
“Dear Christoph, I am pleased to tell you that our Admissions Selector has decided to offer you a place to study BSc in Politics and Philosophy at LSE!” After reading those words I was, briefly put, very happy. I got the same sensation when I received my offer from St Andrews a few weeks later. However, not much time would pass by before I realised that I actually had to make a choice at some point and as it turned out that choice would be harder to make than what I initially thought. Deciding between offers can be hard and…
Christmas break has been great – seeing my family and friends again after first semester abroad was long awaited. What is more, I also get to enjoy a lot of distinctive Danish things that I didn’t know I was going to miss before leaving. Here is my list of the things that I have missed the most from Denmark. Faxe Kondi Faxe Kondi is a Danish fizzy drink – slightly reminiscent of Sprite, it is produced by Unibrew and is hands down my favourite soft drink. It is actually so popular in Denmark that Klumben & Raske Penge, two…
The nights are getting longer, the days are getting shorter and exams are approaching – winter is coming to St Andrews. For students in general, this means revision and Christmas dinners. For myself in particular, it also means reflection upon my first semester in the Kingdom of Fife. On the one hand, it seems like yesterday that I sat in a minibus on my way to The Bubble (nickname for St Andrews frequently employed by students) with two heavy suitcases, a bucket load of expectations, and no familiar faces. Suddenly, I find myself in a situation where my suitcases are…
I’ll admit it. I have, several times, found myself in challenging situations since arriving at St Andrews – I am not talking about leaving for handball practice without an umbrella just as the Scottish rain decides to strike, missing breakfast due to the tempting snooze button nor am I talking about realising that I did not flip the switch for my iPhone charger before I went to sleep the previous night, albeit I find myself in such situations more frequently than I would like to admit. Instead, I am talking about reading complex academic English. Most of the international students…