When I get questioned about who I am, 'the gong' scene from one of Alan Wats' lectures comes to my mind, where he recites that people when asked who they are, always start responding by stating their name, social and family status, their profession or where they live, or even things they possess, neither of which really describe them. I would propose, that the answer to the question of who I am, we will find out together when we get connected. Eventually.
But for most visitors, it will still be interesting to know my cultural background, level of education, and work experience. So let me give you a brief and dry summary:
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Born 1989 in Rostov am Don, Russia
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Moved in 2002 with my mother and sister to Germany
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Graduated from secondary school, joined Commercial and Technical College in Bonn
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Graduated with "Advanced Technical College Entrance Qualification", technical training as "Information Technology Assistant" and "Qualified IT Specialist for System Integration"
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After working for 2 years in different positions for different IT companies (network specialist, SAP support, Internet provider abuse management) enlisted in the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne to study Business Informatics
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Graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences and since then worked in the IT Service Management field as a Project Manager, IT Service Manager, and Change & Release Manager
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Certified as "ITIL v3 Expert", "ITIL4 Managing Professional", "PRINCE2 Practitioner", "ISTQB Certified Tester"
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C2 in English (certified Cambridge Proficiency), German and Russian
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Currently employed as Senior Enterprise Release Manager at ALDI Sued International Services
Short story long:
Born in 1989 in Rostow am Don, Russia, I was growing up in the cool post-Soviet 90s. By cool I mean a time period of absolute political instability, social insecurity, executive and juridical chaos, and poverty beyond the level of some 3rd World countries. Yet, it was an interesting and engaging childhood with countless hours spent playing, running, and fighting on the streets of my hometown.
In 2002 my mother moved to Germany after she got married, taking my sister and me along. Without any prior knowledge of the German language, I was sent to the lowest level of secondary modern school (Hauptschule), which didn't improve my integration willingness. Luckily, I still did quickly ramp up my German and my English was already on par with some of the teachers in this school, so I soon transferred to the second level of secondary school (Realschule), which I finished in the usual time.
After that, I graduated with 'Advanced Technical College Entrance Qualification', technical training as an 'Information Technology Assistant' and 'Qualified IT Specialist for System Integration' through a special education program offered by the Commercial and Technical College in collaboration with the 'Chamber of Commerce and Industry'. After graduating, I have started earning a great salary while quickly rising through the ranks of a corporate worker in a big successful company. Or so I thought...but actually even having multiple professional certifications that I have completed during my vacations and for which I paid out of my own pocket, I could barely make any progress. So I took the decision to study at the University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln) in Cologne.
To be continued...