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International Students Testimonies

"A unique opportunity" - Arturo Calderón about receiving a DAAD scholarship

Arturo Calderón is studying the Distance Learning program Visual and Media Anthropology and has been funded with a DAAD scholarship since the winter term 2021/22. Here he explains how he applied for the scholarship, how he received it, and which goals he has set himself for the future.

Congratulations again on winning a DAAD scholarship. What was your first thought when you found out you had received it?

Thank you very much. It was a rare moment filled with a lot of emotions but at the same time I found myself mentally static since I couldn't believe it. The application had been sent about 5 months before receiving the acceptance letter, one day I checked my e-mail and found that great surprise which became an unforgettable sensation full of intensity like the heat felted on that Caribbean summer afternoon.

How did you find out about the DAAD scholarship and what made you apply for it?

I always wanted to do a master's program after finishing my bachelor’s degree and for this I needed financial support to be able to carry it out, so I started looking for opportunities visiting several universities in my hometown, I attended talks in different cultural centers, internet research and asking to any person who I thought might have information about it.

One Saturday morning I attended to a conference about scholarships at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán and it was here where I first learned what DAAD is. I began to fill my brain with information about the institution, requirements, visits to the German cultural center and the German embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras which is my hometown.

 

What did your letter of motivation say?

One of the reasons why I am interested in a DAAD scholarship is because I have realized that cinematography is a very useful tool for mass educational purposes and using it with positive energy can give us a very powerful result that could help improve the way humans behave.

Human negativity travels around and is my wish to repel it by using the right technological tools mixed with the proper cinematographic techniques which have the power to create a sensation of change on people’s minds when they watch a screen.

It is of my interest to study cinematography because of the importance that audiovisual media have to create awareness (the important care of our environment as an example) among people nowadays through social networks. As a photographer I started creating artistic photographs with my best friends something that evolved into documentary, photojournalism and advertising photography which eventually mutated into a documentation of frames per second.

I realize how essential it is to remember moments, our history, the importance of educate new generations by learning about our past. The good reputation of German universities is well known and the importance that society attaches to art are the reasons why I have put my interest in the German educational system.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

It is a unique opportunity that is so fundamental for your professional development, it is a privilege. It’s a lot of work to be able to meet the requirements but once the goal is achieved you realize how much it was worth all the effort made.

A large gate opens in front of you from which comes a powerful and rewarding light.

What do you particularly like about studying at HMKW so far? And what plans do you have for the future?

The complexity of the online teaching was very pleasant especially in these difficult Covid-19 era, something that has been successfully achieved thanks to the educational structure of the VMA program.

My plan for the future is to take the knowledge acquired in the audiovisual anthropological field, refine it and mix it with a continuous practice of my camera since the photographic direction is also of great interest to me.

Thanks for the interview. We wish you much success for your studies!