“Helping others also helps me”: Taraneh Ghanooni Arani awarded DAAD prize

Taraneh Ghanooni Arani is pursuing bachelor’s studies in Applied Musicology and Music Education and knows the challenges one faces when trying to hold one’s own in a foreign country and a foreign culture. Despite the challenges she has had to overcome herself - or rather, because of them, the Irani woman supports other people on their path to becoming integrated into German society. For this, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD recently awarded the 31-year-old Taraneh its 2021 prize for excellent achievements of foreign students.

It is 3 pm in the afternoon and Taraneh’s doorbell is ringing. She opens the door of the flat she shares with fellow students and lets in Sara. The 14-year-old Gymnasium student has come for her piano lesson. Sara and her parents came to Germany as Afghani refugees only three years ago. Nevertheless, Sara managed to get accepted into a Musikgymnasium. To do so, not only did she have to learn German, she also had to learn to play the piano in an incredibly short time. “The other kids in my class have been playing their instrument for three years now. I caught up in half a year”, Sara says proudly. What really helped her achieve the feat, was Taraneh’s lessons. Once a week, Sara and Taraneh practise the pieces Sara will have to present in school. It was the Eichstätt branch of the Malteser organization that brought the two musicians together. Taraneh has been volunteering for the catholic relief agency for one and a half years. “It was a very unusual request, when Sara’s family came to us seeking a piano teacher for her daughter. We are so happy to have been able to find Taraneh for the task”, says Janka Böhm, head of integration services with the organization in the Eichstätt diocese.

Taraneh was born and raised in the Iranian capital Tehran. After graduating from school, she got a Bachelor’s degree in economics, then another one in music. All that time she took several piano master classes while herself teaching piano. “I wanted to perfect my skills and my knowledge in music and teaching, so I decided to study in Germany”, says Taraneh. She found the KU and its range of degree programs online, and in the fall of 2018 she left her 20-million-inhabitant city for the rather idyllic provincial town of Eichstätt. “I feel at home here and I really like the town. Also, I was offered a lot of help right from the start - by other students but also from professors. This is one of the advantage of a small university: The lecturers really have time for their students.” For one year, Taraneh went to a crash course at the Language Center of the KU to learn German, then she began her studies. Her professional goal: becoming a music teacher or music therapist.

“Taraneh Ghanooni Arani is one of the top students in our program, which is really remarkable, when you consider that she only started learning German when she came here. Even in written examinations she is one of the best students. Besides her studies, she volunteers as a tutor and accompanies fellow students who are preparing for singing or instrumental exams on the piano”, says musicology professor Dr. Kathrin Schlemmer.

When the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown stopped all on-campus teaching in the spring of 2020, many of Taraneh’s friends and housemates went to stay with their parents. “That’s when I decided to get involved and make new contacts. Helping others also helps me.” Her sister had come to Germany before Taraneh. It was she who told Taraneh about the Malteser agency and the integration assistance they are offering to refugees and migrants. After one phone call, Taraneh immediately got involved with the Maltesers language café in Eichstätt.  “I know how hard it is when you come to Germany and don’t speak a word of German. That is why I enjoy helping other people who are in the same situation. We used to meet regularly, do grammar exercises and play games”, says Taraneh.

“Volunteers like that are a real asset to us”, says Janka Böhm. “Volunteers who have made their own experiences, can well understand what many refugees and migrants experience, when they have to find their way in a foreign country and learn the language.”

2021 Taraneh Ghanooni Arani received the DAAD Prize as a student at the KU. It is awarded annually to foreign students that have top academic performances while additionally showing social commitment above and beyond the call of duty. “Taraneh Ghanooni Arani was very deservedly awarded the prize”, says Prof. Dr. Schlemmer.