A profession that combines care and knowledge

Marvin Alex-Rohde came to Germany five years ago. Now he is becoming a health care and nursing assistant.

Even before his training, Marvin Alex-Rohde spent a lot of time in hospital in his life. As a teenager, he contracted tuberculosis and had to have lung surgery. During this time, he got to know the work of the people in the hospital first hand, was thrilled by the combination of care and knowledge that the staff brought with them. So the desire matured in him to become a health care worker and nurse.

He also told the mother of a friend, a doctor. Without further ado, she asked around for a training place for Marvin - and was successful. The only condition for Marvin was a secondary school diploma with good grades. So Marvin started cramming. A special challenge for the 21-year-old, who came to Germany from Nigeria only five years ago and had to learn the language and the school system from scratch. But one that Marvin mastered: not only did he graduate from secondary school with excellent grades, he even secured a recommendation for grammar school. But it had long been clear to him: training to become a nurse is calling.

"I have a lot of respect for my son".

In the meantime, Marvin has almost completed his training, looking back he remembers: "The first year of training was not easy." Nevertheless, he persevered. "Now I am sure that it is the right training for me," says Marvin. His father Rainer Rohde, who also trained in the medical field in the past, agrees. What he admires most about Marvin is his "incredible will": "That's why I have a lot of respect for my son," he says.

Marvin already knows what will happen soon: he wants to do further training to become a specialist nurse for intensive care and anaesthesia and then gain professional experience. Father Rainer has supported his son from the beginning. "I think it's totally great when young people do an apprenticeship." Especially for children who are "simply tired of school" after ten years, this step is the right one, as long as they find the right training profession. "And even after the apprenticeship, they still have the opportunity to continue their practical or academic education," says Rainer: "That's the good thing about our school system: all doors are always open.