Felix Riehn

I boarded at St Jos for six months to learn English properly. During this short time I made many friends and especially enjoyed Art classes and Design & Technology. The teachers were always helpful and, in my experience, this attitude was unique and I really missed their dedication after returning home to Germany.

This may have led me to apply for the Industrial Design course at university after school. I applied to different universities for an Industrial Design course but, unfortunately, I came 18^th out of 600 applicants and there were only 17 places. I then had the choice of architecture or business administration. I chose the latter because of the job prospects and have never regretted it.

During my studies I kept in touch with friends at St. Joseph's College. I visited them several times in England and even Hong Kong. In addition, a very good friend at the time enabled me to do a short internship in his parents' company in China. The many international friendships have shaped me and I am extremely grateful for that. Two years ago, I was invited to the wedding of a St. Jos’ friend where I was reunited with my girlfriend.

Although I did not succeed in the end with a creative career, I will always value my time at St Jos and am still very happy about the course of events. During my studies I did internships in the marketing department of a renowned film studio and worked for the best advertising agency in the German speaking countries. After I finished my bachelor's degree in Hanover, I went to Copenhagen Business School for a course in economics, and then completed my master's degree in business administration in Hamburg. At this time I became aware of a company for which I still work indirectly.

The company first sent me to Zurich, Switzerland for four years, where I worked in strategic marketing and accompanied product-market strategies for their subsidiaries. This resulted in my current job. I now work for one of these subsidiaries in Munich, where I am in charge of product management with three employees. We manufacture inspection machines for the pharmaceutical industry and we are the world market leader in this segment. For example, the majority of COVID-19 vaccines will soon be produced on our machines and we call Pfizer, GSK or Johnson & Johnson our customers.

St Joseph’s helped to prepare me well for my professional life, and the international orientation of the College is still useful to me today. Even though I did not choose a creative career in the end, my experience in the Art and Design & Technology classes at St Jos have influenced my work in many ways. The boarding made me independent and ready to leave home and I would like to make this experience possible for my children.

Many thanks again for the great time! I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Davey and Tom Roden, who I will always remember fondly and who unfortunately left us far too early.