Our alumna Marietta Slomka studied economics at the WiSo Faculty and graduated in 1995. During and after her studies, she worked at the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (German Economic Institute) and the Kölnische Rundschau (independent daily newspaper) before taking up a traineeship at Deutsche Welle in Bonn, where she worked as a European correspondent in Brussels until 1998. After moving to ZDF, she first worked as a parliamentary correspondent in Bonn and Berlin before taking over as a presenter of the news programme heute nacht and, from 2001, as a news anchor at heute journal. Since then, she has become an integral part of German journalism. In our alumni interview, we spoke to her about studying as mental training, tears shed during her prep course and what her day would be like if she could study at WiSo again.

Dear Ms Slomka, you studied economics at WiSo and graduated in 1995. Today, it is impossible to imagine German journalism without you. Did your studies influence your way of thinking and your approach to the topics you deal with as a journalist today? 

I think that studying at university is also a form of mental training: processing a lot of information relatively quickly and in a structured way; working with theses and anti-theses; distinguishing scientific studies from anecdotal experiences; wading through texts laden with foreign words and complex graphics. This definitely helped me later in my career.

Is there a particular moment in your studies that you still remember fondly today?

I was very proud when I held my printed thesis in my hands. It felt really good: there was a lot of heart and soul in it. 

You were born and raised in Cologne, went to school here and studied at WiSo. What makes the city special to you? 

De Höhner said it best: ‘Kölle - Du bes e Jeföhl’ (“Hey Cologne, you're a feeling”). In Cologne, even newly arrived residents can quickly become fully integrated – provided they constantly reassure the locals how wonderful the city is. 

What advice would you give to our students? Do you have any tips? 

A word of advice: don't go crazy if you feel you can't keep up. Many people feel the same way when in doubt, they just don't show it. I ran home crying after my first mathematics prep course. I thought I was studying economics, not maths. It took me quite a while to realise that the others also understood only half of it.

In conclusion: If you could be enrolled at WiSo for one more day: What would that day be like?

Like when I was a student, this day wouldn't start too early...

Dear Ms Slomka, thank you very much for your time and for this interview.