Berlin is the perfect city from which to explore – both physically and mentally – Germany, Europe, the world, and yourself! Luckily, I was born here and I have been using it as my actual and intellectual home base ever since. I studied North American Studies and Communication Science here at Freie Universität Berlin and received my M.A. in 2002. After that, I lived in Hamburg for a year, working with the Körber Foundation for their Transatlantic Idea Contest USable. I returned to Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin to pursue my Ph.D. in History (with an American research topic), which I received in 2007. I then worked for an organization offering guided city walking tours with a historical and sociological perspective on Berlin. In 2008, I joined FUBiS (Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University), FU-BEST’s short-term sister program, as Program Coordinator, and came to FU-BEST as Academic Director in 2011. This somehow merges elements of all my former jobs, interests, and fields of expertise. Plus, it is a great place to help young people become Freie Universität alumni, part-time Berliners, and explorers, too!