I am currently finishing my Bachelor in Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen.

I was born and raised in Lausanne in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. My family owns a chalet in the Swiss Alps about one hour away from home, and I naturally started skiing at a relatively young age. I used to spend every weekends and vacation running, biking, or skiing in the mountains. I began racing in local ski races when I was seven and the passion never left me. I moved up the ladder from regional ski-team, to national, and was finally able to live my dream when I raced in World Cup races. After a bad knee injury, I, unfortunately, had to quit my skiing career and start a new chapter of my life as a student of the University of St. Gallen. Being a professional athlete allowed me learning a lot about how to deal with successes and failures as well as working in teams, being concentrated, independent, and travelling a lot.

To pass from the life of the athlete to the life of a business student was not easy and I struggled a lot to find a new meaning. I took a class at the University of St Gallen during the Autumn 2015 labeled: “Self-Development – Becoming an Agent of Transformation“. I did not know what to expect, but it was my first encounter with the “Integral Approach,” the Institute Trans4m, and Alexander Schieffer. After two days of an intensive seminar, the perspective on my environment, my life, and the world in general changed. By applying the Integral model to myself, I connected to my purpose in life and was able to find my way.

The model had such an impact on me that I did not want it to be a “one shot” as many other concepts that I encountered during my education. I want to make other people profit from this approach and contribute to the well-beings of individuals, organisations, and societies close or far away from me. I asked Alexander Schieffer to become a “Trans4m Junior Fellow” to continue being part of a community – positive and full of energy.

From July 2016 onwards, I shall be going for one year to Brazil to help two organisations there “Sinal do Vale”  and “Adapta Sertão” – a renowned development project in the arid hinterland of Bahia. I cannot wait to contribute actively on the ground to the development of these two incredible institutions. It will be my first experience as a volunteer in a foreign country, and I am sure that it will have a positive influence on my personal growth. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the Trans4m community in the upcoming years.

Here is my first post, sharing impressions of my first week with Sinal do Vale in Brazil.