Milica Zajac came to Germany from Serbia to the Ruhr region as a child with her mother. "Growing up in two cultures, often between modern and traditional role models, triggered diffuse feelings in me for a long time. Today I know my identity. My approach is to take the best out of two cultures," reports the talent scout employee.

Today, she passes on her experiences to those in whom she often finds her own story: She accompanies motivated pupils, often from a non-academic background, on their personal educational path and helps them to recognise their potential. "Back then, I wished I had support like that. I was the first in my family to want to study. My parents always helped me as much as they could, but when I had questions about how to apply to university or finance my studies, I didn't have a place to go for guidance."

Portraits and interviews

She also talks about her personal path that led her to the University of Wuppertal as part of the "Faces of the District" exhibition, for which the actor Armin Rohde portrayed her. In addition to the photos, short interviews are also part of the project, which will celebrate its official opening next Saturday, 25 April, at the Ruhr Museum in Essen (see info box). Milica Zajac will then also be part of a panel discussion and share her story with the audience.

"I was initially very hesitant about whether I wanted to take part in the exhibition. But then I told myself that I can't always encourage my talents to try new things and then not leave my comfort zone myself. Now I'm happy to be involved and to have the opportunity to make our work as talent scouts and the topic of educational equality even more visible," reports Milica Zajac.

The talent scouts, who are part of the central student guidance and counselling services at the University of Wuppertal, see themselves as all-rounders who work with students to develop individual, open-ended and long-term solutions and plans for their professional future. They give advice, answer questions and establish important contacts. The search for talent is not just about the best performance at school. Average grades achieved under difficult conditions and extracurricular activities are also taken into account.

Further information on talent scouting at the university of Wuppertal: https: //talentscouting.uni-wuppertal.de/de/talentscouting/