When did you become a chaplain?
I started quite recently — in March 2018. So, by the time you post this interview, I’ll be nearing one year of service as a university chaplain. My second colleague, Christen, has been here for much longer, for more than 20 years by now.
What was your personal motivation for doing what you do?
I’ve always liked working with organizations ever since I started my career at the World Council of Churches in Geneva in Switzerland. I worked there for some years and I found it quite rewarding to work in an international atmosphere. I think that as university chaplains, we can make a small but qualified contribution to international mutual understanding and cultural integration in the city as well as in the university. This was one of the key parts why I applied for this position and this is part of why I like it. I also like working with people in relation to their personal issues. This is also a core part of my work and I’ve always liked that.
Can you tell us more about what you do here in Aalborg?
Our primary task is to be of service to students, which means that we do counselling sessions for both people from Aalborg University and UCN. The main part of our work is to be available to students in form of private talks and counselling sessions. The students come to us with all kinds of concerns. It can be related to their studies, pressure or difficulty dealing with the issues and choices related to the studies, like: “Am I in the right place or should I transfer to another subject or another school?”
These kinds of concerns can be quite overwhelming. Maybe you’ve seen our motto, which is that “learning seriously affects your being.” That’s true in the sense that whenever you embark on new things or topics like students do every day, it will always almost automatically affect you. And when the things don’t go as planned, it can be a relief to talk to somebody who is maybe not exactly your teacher or mentor, but still a part of the university setting.
What kind of problems do the students usually come with?
It’s issues regarding their studies or exams, stress or anxiety, and also quite private topics like relationships with family or friends; many students experience loneliness or difficulties in their relationships. Foreign students are often quite far away from their friends and family, which can be upsetting. Mostly the students come to us with concerns related to the studies or their personal life.
Is the majority of the students which come to you from a religious background or not really?
Occasionally. I think we make it a point that nobody should be afraid of coming to us regardless of religious background. We are chaplains, but we don’t push religious agendas. And we are not here to do missionary work. We keep an open space in which it is safe and accepted to talk about anything. If a student wants to discuss religious issues, of course, we’re also open to that. It can also be existential or ethical issues, which students are faced with, just like everyone else.
And we always say that we will talk to the students about anything that’s important to them. Whether it’s anxiety for going at an exam or a crisis in the family, or if it’s a broken relationship, or if it’s about being homesick because you can’t go home for Christmas, then that’s what we’ll talk about. We’re here to serve the people, it’s not the other way around.
Every September, when the semester starts, we go on a tour to all the faculties and we talk about the university chaplains and how they can contact us and how we can be of service, and we make it a strong point that they could come to us with anything. We are bound by absolute confidentiality, so we won’t share any information about anyone.
When somebody wants to come — should they make an appointment, or should they just come during the opening hours?
It’s better to make an appointment so that we make sure we have the time because you know we may also be occupied even though it’s during office hours. They can always call or send an email. Everyone can reach us at praesten@adm.aau.dk
Do people usually come once and then that is that, or do familiar faces keep on returning?
It’s a mixture of both. Some students we only see once, some of them we see a couple of times, and others come here for a long period of time. Even for months.
Do the teachers ever have a part in the whole process?
Yes, sometimes the teachers or tutors advise the students to come to the chaplains when they notice that they are struggling with something.
Are students usually open to sharing their concerns once they are here? And how many counselling sessions do you usually have per week?
Yes, they are. We are quite busy doing this counselling service. We have on the average maybe five to twenty-five counselling sessions per week. My colleague and I are also available outside office hours in case there’s an emergency.
Apart from that, we also arrange different kinds of social events, talks and church-related events for all students, Danish as well as international. So that’s the two main parts of our work — counselling and activities.
What kind of activities?
Well, we have the project “Dine with a Dane”, where students from abroad can come and see a Danish family and dine with them. This is a way to get to know a Danish family and also a starting point for becoming part of Aalborg. It’s been going on for around 4 years now. And that’s been a success.
In spring, we organize an Easter event in one of the museums in the city of Aalborg where we go and celebrate a small service in the former Greyfriars monastery (Klostermuseet). And for Christmas, we have the Nine Lessons in Budolfi Church.
What does the Christmas event consist of?
It’s Nine Lessons. It’s hymns and readings from the Bible related to Christmas, and also music and carols. The student house does light mapping and the cathedral choir does the singing. It’s really beautiful. And it’s also open to participation because there are people from all over the globe participating and reading. The rector from AAU is also doing one of the readings and headmaster of the UCN is doing another. So, it’s a way of coming together.
Lastly, if you could spread any message to the youth here in Aalborg, what would this message be?
Enjoy life, and take good care of it. It may not seem like it, but you are in the greatest time of your life — and in one of the greatest cities I can think of to be young in.
Links to their webpage and Facebook page:
Interviews conducted by: Viktoriya Dimitrova & Tereza Čechová
Article written by: Tereza Čechová
Edited by: Marie-Louise Dalgaard Sørensen & Viktoriya Dimitrova
Interviewee: Nanna Holm
Photography: Tereza Čechová