A A-levels can help, but other qualities often count: Anyone aiming for a scholarship should take a close look at the profiles of the various funding organizations.

In this series we present scholarship holders from various foundations.

Sharujan Premkumar is a cheerful and at the same time serious person.

The twenty-five-year-old likes to laugh at himself. When it comes to things that are close to his heart, he chooses his words carefully and comes across as calm and thoughtful.

Everyday racism is such a topic, equal opportunities and co-determination also concern him.

Premkumar grew up in the Westerwald.

From 2017 to 2021 he did his bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Mainz.

Four years ago he became a scholarship holder of the Hans Böckler Foundation, which is close to the trade union and supports about 2800 students in Germany.

Anyone wishing to apply there can do so on two dates per year.

A Bafög entitlement is a prerequisite.

First, an online form must be filled out and a letter of reference submitted, followed by interviews with scholarship holders and a tutor, and finally one with representatives of management, a trade union and the scholarship holders.

Union membership is not a requirement, but welcome.

In order to compensate for injustices in the education system, the social situation of the applicant is also taken into account, says Eike Hebecker from the student support department.

"It was completely new territory for me"

Premkumar joined Verdi a year ago.

"At the time I had no connection to unions at all, it was completely new territory for me," he says.

Even then, he was able to identify with the values ​​of the foundation and with the fight for a more just society.

He applied with a good but not above-average high school diploma.

Premkumar's parents are from Sri Lanka and belong to the ethnic group of the Tamils.

He is the first in his family to go to college.

"I'm a typical working-class kid," he says.

Financially, things got tough at times.

As a teenager at a school with mostly wealthy students, usually without a migration background, he sometimes felt alone, Premkumar recalls.

Everyday racism, for example hidden behind inappropriate remarks, only became really clear to him over the years.

Premkumar has also encountered such prejudices outside of school.

He accepted them until it finally became clear to him that and why they bothered him.

In these cases, he always sought a conversation – with almost exclusively positive feedback.

As a class and later as a student representative, breaking down barriers and prejudices was a priority for him.

“I wanted something to be resolved at my school.” On the side, Premkumar taught the language and history of the Tamils ​​in a Tamil school.

He visited his parents' country of origin for the first time after graduating from high school.

For several months, Premkumar traveled to Sri Lanka where he met relatives and learned more about his parents' history.

Back in Germany, he worked and saved for his studies.

Premkumar says he chose his subject to ensure more justice in companies in the future from the position of a working-class child.

"I want to change the system.

It cannot be that the people who do the hardest work are the ones who end up earning the least.”

His urge to change society for the better and to fight for justice accompanies him to this day.

When he was at school, it was the starter grant that opened up new perspectives for him.

Since 2002, the foundation of the same name has been providing financial and non-material support to immigrant students.

Premkumar was accepted and enthusiastically attended up to ten events a year.

Intermediary between the foundation and scholarship recipients

“I was able to take so much with me there.

What it's like when you spend time with different cultures, what kind of exchange takes place, what that does to you - these are things that you don't necessarily get to know in your little world in the Westerwald." Distanced from the sometimes cramped idyll of village life themselves Premkumar again and again.

It seems he was never really comfortable there.

The conversation is briefly interrupted, his younger brother has a question about homework.

After the death of his father a few years ago, Premkumar moved back to the Westerwald.

Since then he has been taking care of his mother and siblings who are in need of care.

“I suddenly had a lot more responsibility back then.

That was a tough time.

If it hadn't been for the foundation, I probably wouldn't have completed my studies," he says thoughtfully.

He was shown a lot of understanding for his situation, even if his grades were not so good.

Premkumar retained his position as regional group spokesman, who acts as a kind of mediator between the foundation and the scholarship holders, until he completed his bachelor's degree.

"I'm glad I kept doing it," he says.

"I didn't lose touch because of that." Having passed the exam, Premkumar's life has calmed down a bit.

A move with the family is planned for the near future.

He also wants to gain work experience.

After the interview, Premkumar continues to write his applications.

After all, he doesn't want to stay in the Westerwald forever.

Here you can find more information about the scholarships of the Hans Böckler Foundation