A Jack of all trades

Dr. Aranha, you have been working as a consultant to the Rector in the Office of University Development and Communication since mid-April. It's high time we introduced you to the university public. And here we go: Name three words that best describe you as a person.

Number one: typical Berliner. I love my home city. Especially from a distance. Number two: potcake. The word comes from the Bahamas and originally referred to rice that was burnt in a cooking pot and then fed to the dogs. At some point, however, the meaning changed so that it was used for the dogs themselves, who often lived on the streets in the Bahamas - similar to the term "promenade mix" used in Germany. This then became a self-designation of people to whom it somehow also applies. And, last but not least, I've also been called a smartass, perhaps not entirely unfairly - which is why I was a little disappointed when I found out that there used to be a so-called "smartass aquarium" here, but I missed the opportunity to sit in it.

You come from a place that one can only dream of having been to and have both German and Bahamian citizenship. Can you tell us more about your origins?

My mother was born in Liberec, then Reichenberg, and grew up in Chrastava, then Kratzau, until 1946. After the war, her family moved to Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg until they moved to Berlin in 1966.
My father's family has a Portuguese name because an ancestor of the family line that gave the family its name migrated from Brazil to the Bahamas in the mid-19th century to help build up the salt industry on the island of Inagua, but the family tree is a colorful mixture of people from many countries and several continents.
The Bahamas was a British colony and only gained its independence in 1973. So my father came to Berlin in the early 1970s, still as a so-called CUKC (Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies), as a pilot working for Modern Air. At that time, pilots flying to and from West Berlin had to be citizens of one of the Western Allies. After my parents separated, I grew up between Berlin and Nassau, Bahamas, and after my studies I decided to move there completely.

What educational path did you take and which career stages are particularly noteworthy for you?

After graduating from high school, I studied North American Studies and History at the Free University of Berlin and graduated with a Magister Artium. I then went to the Bahamas, where I first worked as an editor at the Nassau Guardian. For the longest time, however, I worked as an Assistant Professor of History at the College (now University) of The Bahamas. In 2016, I returned to Germany to write my doctoral thesis on the historical development of electoral law in The Bahamas at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt am Main. This is how I obtained a doctorate in law from the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main.

What has particularly shaped you as a person?

I hope I'm not fooling myself when I say that all my experiences - the people I've dealt with and the places I've lived and worked in - have shaped me. Certainly, both the move from Germany to the Bahamas and the move back to Germany were major, drastic changes that perhaps stand out in particular. But even changes that seem smaller at first glance shape a person. In any case, I sincerely hope that one day I will be able to say that Zittau and Lusatia, as well as the people in general and working with my colleagues at the HSZG in particular, have also shaped me.

What made you decide to work at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and take on the position of Rector's Advisor?

As much as comparisons can be misleading, there are still some similarities between the College or the University of The Bahamas and the HSZG. For example, both are rather small universities and both have a dual location. I enjoyed working at the College of The Bahamas, and I was happy to play my part in providing better study conditions for the students and better teaching and research conditions for the professors. At the HSZG, I appreciate the direct contact with my colleagues. These short official channels can make work much easier.

What tasks and responsibilities are part of your role as the Rector's advisor?

A bit of a Jack of all trades, a bit of a Houdini. And perhaps also a bit of a pain in the ass.

As an interface to the Rector, you are certainly in high demand. How do you organize communication between the university management and the various faculties and what challenges do you see in your current position?

I hope that I can always maintain a sense of humor in order to be able to tackle the many different tasks. If I lose that sense of humor, it is usually a sign that I am indeed stressed.

What hobbies do you pursue in your free time?

I quite like cooking. No, actually I mainly like to eat. But since food doesn't just appear on my table by itself, I ended up cooking. Photography used to be a hobby of mine too, until I "lent" my equipment to my daughter a few years ago. I can well imagine getting back into it. I also love being out in the mountains, even though I can't really go hiking or mountaineering any more - or not yet again. I also feel very much at home here because of the landscape. And, last but not least, I really like pub quizzes. If anyone has a recommendation for me in Zittau and the surrounding area...

The interview was conducted by the University Development and Communication Office, Public Relations Department.