«I had no idea…

If I’m honest, starting my business degree programme wasn’t plain sailing. The first three weeks really were a bit much to take in. Now, half a year into the programme, things look much brighter, and my motivation is growing day by day.

But let me start at the beginning. After my commercial apprenticeship, I became interested in continuing education. But where did I want it to take me? I collected information about numerous degree programmes at different institutions. I liked what my friends told me about the Lucerne School of Business: the lecturers are very approachable and highly competent in their disciplines. Classes are fairly small, you’re not just a number among many. Besides, the Lucerne School of Business has an excellent reputation across the country.

The programme in Business Administration gives me a solid foundation. After the second semester, I get to choose from eleven different specialisations from Real Estate to Resource Management to Communication to Tourism. Fortunately, I don’t have to pick one just yet. During first two semesters, I have the opportunity to familiarise myself with the individual areas of specialisation, both in the classroom and by attending information events.

At the start of the programme, I couldn’t quite imagine what some of the subjects would be like and I was a bit worried about maths. However, after just a few weeks things became much clearer and thanks to the extremely practical classes taught by highly qualified and motivated lecturers, I got an understanding of what’s what across subjects. I met a lot of new people; I get along really well with five of my fellow students. We often revise together. Thanks to our varied professional backgrounds, our discussions are often really interesting and beneficial for all of us.

And there’s maths, which, as I said earlier, was a problem subject for me before I became a student. I just wasn’t very good at it and not motivated to learn it. Our maths lecturer at the HSLU is extremely passionate about his subject and he managed to motivate me, after all. The pennies just started to drop, and I didn’t even need any of the extra lessons offered by the Student Council. I’ll always have to put in more effort than others where maths is concerned but knowing I can do it is extremely motivating.

I moved to Lucerne for my full-time studies and spent most of my turbulent first few weeks on campus. In the meantime, I like an occasional stroll through the old town to clear my head. My flatmate is in the third semester and luckily, she always knows what’s happening on campus and if there’s a student party planned somewhere.

To all freshers, I can say just one thing: even if it’s all a bit much at the beginning and if you feel overwhelmed, it will get better every day. Just stick with it, things will fall into place eventually. My resolution for the next semester is to start revising early on. The exams may still seem far away, but in the end there’s never enough time to prepare. Even though I don’t always see the big picture, I’ve learned to trust myself. I know I can always ask my lecturers anything, even outside teaching hours. Our class has become a close-knit community. This gives me the confidence that I can achieve anything on my personal and professional path at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.»

Isabelle Villiger
HSLU student in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programme