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Hanna Mommertz from Erding is the eighth best student among 27,500. The 19-year-old will study medicine in the fall and wants to work for Doctors Without Borders at some point. © Lea Warmedinger
Hanna Mommertz from Erding is the eighth best of 60 elite Bavarian candidates. If you have a picture in your head of a student who skipped grades and always got A’s without much effort, you are wrong. It was only with a lot of ambition and perseverance that the 19-year-old made it into the very best students. Her motivation: she wants to work for Doctors Without Borders.
Erding – “Unfortunately, I’m not someone who reads through something once and then knows it,” says Mommertz. She always had to study a lot during her school days. But: “I’m an extreme perfectionist” – her grades were accordingly good. “Even in elementary school, it was a drama if I got a B,” she says. Later, a new ambition emerged, because you need the appropriate grades to study medicine.
The Erdinger native has known since her time at the Heilig Blut girls’ secondary school that she wants to become a doctor. “My grandmother was a nurse and so was my uncle.” So she already had an insight into nursing, and she also has a great interest in natural sciences.
Because there is a health department there, Mommertz went to the FOS in Landshut-Schönbrunn, where she also lived – an advantage, the 19-year-old believes, because it meant there were no distractions from school. After three years, she took her general high school diploma this spring with an average grade of 1.0.
Got up at four o’clock to study
Despite this achievement, she describes herself as not a “high-achiever” student. “I never had a problem with someone wanting to copy my homework in the morning.” Nevertheless, she always tried hard in class, often raised her hand and did extra work. Before exams, she even got up at four to repeat everything again.
Mommertz hardly had any free time, especially in the 13th grade. That’s why she’s glad that the stressful phase is over. Now she has more time for her mom, her 14-year-old sister and for playing the flute.
After graduating, the 19-year-old found out that she was one of 60 of 27,500 FOS/BOS high school graduates in Bavaria who met the grade criteria to take part in the Bavarian elite exam. Four examiners orally tested the entire year’s material in the four subjects of German, English, health sciences, and history, politics and society.
“I just hoped that I didn’t come 60th – it would be embarrassing to have to tell the teachers.” Mommertz didn’t have a good feeling after the exam because she didn’t have an answer to two questions. But it was mainly about putting things into context and giving her opinion. When she found out the result, she was “very surprised and also proud.”
Actually, she would now receive elite funding of almost 1,300 euros per semester. But this only applies to Bavarian universities, and Mommertz will be studying in Freiburg – so she won’t see any of the money. But the Erdinger native sees it as a positive: the certificate can give her advantages in her studies or professional life.
1.0 was not enough for dream university
Even after graduating from high school and passing the elite exam, Hanna Mommertz’s ambition has not diminished: she already works in the cardiology ward at Erding Hospital during her holidays – “that’s what you need for your medical studies.”
Cardiology, would that be something for her? “I think I find surgery very interesting,” says Mommertz. She has long wanted to join Doctors Without Borders at some point. And as a surgeon, you can work and help in developing countries – the young woman’s main goal. “I also want to train the people there.”
She made a conscious decision to go to Freiburg: “I wanted to do my own thing for my studies and be in a completely new city.” Her first choice would have been Heidelberg, “but an A grade isn’t enough for that.” But Hanna Mommertz is also looking forward to Freiburg, as the university hospital there is one of the largest in Germany – “I see a lot of cool medical conditions there that I can use for Doctors Without Borders,” she says with a smile.
Learning tips
Hanna Mommertz studied hard and invested time for her grades. With her approach, she managed to become an elite student. During exam periods, she did not shy away from taking a break from everything outside of school. “And I did everything possible repeated over and over again.” She also looked at the material from previous school years again during the summer holidays. When learning, it helped her to say everything out loud and to To tell stuffed animals. As an incentive to stay focused longer, Rewards like a hot Kaba. “The only social media I had was WhatsApp and Pinterest.” She didn’t even download no other apps on the phoneto avoid distractions. And: “I found it easy when I enthusiastic about the material Even math was cool at some point. When the 19-year-old had mastered a topic, it didn’t seem so bad anymore and suddenly became fun. “It was worth it.”
