As a child, Mick Besuch wanted to become a doctor, so after graduating from high school he enrolled to study medicine at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. However, he never really felt comfortable in these studies. So he dropped out and began studying theater and film at Freie Universität. The step from medicine to art was not always easy for him, and this decision was not always met with understanding in his private environment. But Besuch had been interested in theater from an early age: "In my youth, I loved to watch musicals and went to the theater with enthusiasm." Before studying medicine, he even did preliminary dance training and worked on his own stage project. In Berlin, he then met people from the professional theater scene and realized that you can also make a good living from art. "In this city, I also have the privilege of being able to visit countless theaters and do job shadowing and internships alongside my studies." His next job shadowing is at the Neukölln Opera.

The enthusiasm for theater is also shared by Dr. Bernd Klemeyer, who is a theater doctor at various theaters in Hamburg. "If an audience member faints, I'm on hand; if a singer breaks her foot, I can help." Klemeyer is also socially engaged in other ways; together with his wife, he sponsors an orphan school in Zambia and the Hamburg homeless project "Hinz und Kunzt."

"I had to bring my de-registration".

Klemeyer initially studied at the Gesamthochschule Essen. That was in 1980, when study places were still allocated by numerus clausus. "But I always wanted to study in a classic university city," he says. Then he got lucky in Berlin: "At the enrollment office of Freie Universität, I learned by chance that there were actually three medical student places still available, but they told me I had to bring my de-registration." So he got in his car, drove to Essen, exmatriculated, drove back the next day, and enrolled at Freie Universität. Here he studies and earns his doctorate, then does his residency in Berlin. Today he lives near Hamburg. For many years, he had his own practice there, but the retiree has since handed it over to a successor.

As a member of the Ernst Reuter Society, he is always up to date on what is happening in Dahlem. He returns to Freie Universität in 2013 to celebrate his Silver Doctorate. And he learns that there is the possibility of endowing a Deutschlandstipendium. He contacts the office for the awarding of Deutschlandstipendien at Freie Universität, finds out about the process and the selection criteria, and becomes the scholarship provider for Mick Besuch for an initial period of one year. "Due to my career break, I now have more time and can also get involved in this area," says Klemeyer.

The two finally met in person at the award ceremony for the German scholarships in February 2023, which was held again after three years in the presence of Freie Universität. Around 350 guests came to the Henry Ford Building - in addition to numerous scholarship holders, their families and friends as well as donors. "It was a very nice exchange," says Besuch, "but unfortunately there was far too little time at the celebration for a long conversation."

Where he wants to go after graduation, Besuch knows: "I want to go into directing, more specifically musical theater directing." To that end, he is trying to build up his own network through assistantships and job shadowing. In July, however, he's leaving Berlin for an internship at the Salzburg Festival.

By Bernd Wannenmacher