We arrive at our 50th edition of 'Where are they now?'. For five years now we have followed the lives of former recipients of SAGSE scholarships, journeys which have taken these alumni, more affectionately known as GASSies, to places as exotic as Kilimanjaro, Bishkek and New York. Many are of course in Australia and a good number in Germany too. This month the editor proudly showcases, for the second time, a person he had the good fortune to teach himself, in Kate Cahoon.
Kate attended Westbourne Grammar School in Melbourne's west, returning from her exchange in Germany to be School Captain. Kate always had a strong social conscience and for many years now she has been very actively involved in gender, reproductive health and climate activism. She is married to a German and they are raising their two children in Berlin.
Year of exchange: 2005 / 06
Group Leader: Stacey Curtis
School: Westbourne Grammar School
Sponsor: Association of German Teachers of Victoria
Town / city of exchange in Germany: Neuruppin, Brandenburg
I remember waking up with jetlag on the first day of my exchange and heading to the Weihnachtsmarkt with my host family, and feeling like I had landed in a fairytale. It had been snowing, and there were real candles in the Christmas trees, and there was a cauldron (!) of Glühwein and lots of delicious food. Later in the day I went tobogganing with my host sister and got to meet all of her friends, which was slightly terrifying, but a good chance to finally learn some colloquial German and test my language skills, which I quickly realised would need a lot of improvement. Another highlight of that first weekend was the look on the faces of my host parents, Christiane and Michael, when they saw my thin Rip Curl ski jacket and the shoes that I had brought with me for the German winter. 20 years later, they still talk about it as if I had landed wearing a bikini and thongs, ready to ride a bike to school in -15 degrees.
Bachelor of Arts & Diploma of Modern Languages (German), University of Melbourne & Master of Arts (Political Science), Universität Potsdam.
During my Bachelor degree at Melbourne Uni, I decided to apply for an exchange semester in Berlin and enjoyed it so much that I ended up staying! I’ve been living in Berlin since 2009, and successfully completed my Master’s degree in Political Science at the University of Potsdam, back in the days when completing a class meant receiving a Papierschein - a mysterious and important piece of paper with your grade on it, which was hard to come by and apparently impossible to replace if lost (many of us foreigners used to digital technology ended up learning this the hard way!).
While studying, I was lucky to receive a scholarship from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which shaped my introduction to political life in Germany, and I’ve since been involved in a wide range of political activities and activism. I have worked for several NGOs, focusing on human rights, women’s rights and climate change, and am currently a campaigner and German team lead for the international climate organisation 350.org.
I live in Berlin with my wife, who is originally from Karlsruhe, and our two children (7 and 3 years old). We co-parent with the kids' father and spend a lot of time with him and his partner, who grew up in the former East, and I’m fascinated to see how East/West cultural differences play out in our family even now. I find it equally fascinating that my children are native German speakers, and even though I try to expose them to as much English as possible, they still speak English haltingly and with a fairly strong German accent. We’re still in touch with my host family and catch up at least once a year. My host sister Tina is currently living in Melbourne - we’ve swapped locations!
Growing up in a small town near Geelong, with parents who left school early and didn’t get to study or learn a foreign language, I certainly didn’t anticipate that I would end up studying and living in Germany for over 15 years. It was definitely the SAGSE experience that set me on that path, and I’m still extremely grateful to have been given that opportunity.
At the time of my exchange, I actually felt a little uncomfortable with the corporate sponsorship aspect of SAGSE, so I was particularly honoured to have received the one scholarship provided by the German teachers' association. Looking back, I realise how valuable and life-changing scholarship programs can be, and I have a stronger sense of appreciation for the financial commitments made by all of the sponsors, because their investment really does have a huge impact, especially for young people who don’t come from backgrounds where living and studying overseas is a given.