Exceptionally active
For her foreign language studies – English plus Biology for teaching at grammar schools and comprehensive schools – Viktoria Rokhinson had to spend three months abroad. Initially, she found this challenge intimidating, but in the end she stayed for ten months on Vancouver Island in Canada, the largest Pacific island in North America, because she liked it there so much. In a course she attended at Vancouver Island University she discovered her passion for a research topic in biology which she later took up again for her bachelor’s thesis in Münster: algae – or, more precisely, marine algae. This term comprises numerous larger species of algae, marking them off from microscopically small single-cell algae. In her thesis, Viktoria drew up an overview of the potential uses of the underwater plants. With her subject, her thesis ended up as one of the three best in last year’s national “BioThesis” competition.
“Algae are packed full of nutrients,” says the 23-year-old. “You can produce tasty, healthy, sustainable food from them.” And, she adds, algae also have a whole lot more to offer: for example, they can supply raw materials for the production of textiles, cosmetics or packaging materials – or serve as a source of bioenergy. Algae are already being cultivated in France and Norway, she says. “And here in Germany we should also make use of the potential which our coasts offer.”
Viktoria’s enthusiasm for “her” algae doesn’t, however, change her aim to work as a teacher. “There are lots of children and teenagers who don’t get any pleasure from learning anymore,” she says, and the otherwise friendly expression on her face reflects her irritation at the fact. “We come into the world full of curiosity. Why does that get lost in school?” One thing quickly becomes clear while talking with her: this master’s student wants to make her contribution to changing this state of affairs. “For most of the problems in our world, education represents the fundamental step towards solving them – from climate change and extremism to skills shortages in companies.”
My understanding of democracy goes beyond just voting every few years.”
Outside of her studies and thoughts of her future job in the classroom, Viktoria feels she has a duty. “How is it possible that in such a rich country as Germany, teenagers leave school without being able to read and do maths properly?” she asks. “In Germany, many things function well and I’m grateful that I grew up here. But some things don’t work well – although we would actually have the means to change that. My possibilities are limited, but I will do my best to improve education policy – and that means the future of all of us.” For this reason, she has been one of the leaders of the Volt Europe political party in Münster for half a year now, among other things. “I’m motivated and I try to remain true to my values. I can’t look the other way,” she says. “My understanding of democracy goes beyond just voting every few years.”
Looking back, one of the features of Viktoria’s childhood was moving homes. During her time at school, the family moved from Wuppertal to Nordkirchen via Münster. Her parents, both with university diplomas, came to Germany from St. Petersburg after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Here, they worked hard at finding their place in German society. Viktoria is the second-eldest of four sisters. In addition to her enthusiasm for foreign languages and biology, she indulged her passion as a child for artistic roller skating and for amateur dramatics. In order to earn pocket money she had a newspaper round after school, did tutoring for other children and worked as a waitress in a café. Having several pets at home furthered her love of animals and nature. Today, forests are still a refuge for her as she goes on walks there with one of the family dogs.
Viktoria has many different interests and is involved in an above-average number of activities: participating in theatre projects, making music, membership of the German Life-Saving Association and of the Education and Science Trade Union, looking after biotopes, as well as yoga, acrobatics and watersports. “I get a lot of pleasure from languages,” she says. “What I like is each country’s culture and the different perspectives on life they give me.” German and Russian are her native languages; she also has fluent English, and Spanish and French from her schooldays. Besides her studies, she also taught herself basic Chinese as a scholarship holder in a programme offered by the Hans Böckler Foundation. “It annoys me that we in Germany take such little interest in China and its culture – although China is such an important trading partner for us,” she says. “It should really be a subject at school.”
Back to the bachelor’s thesis: the fact that trainee teacher Viktoria wrote a subject-based (and not a pedagogical) thesis is an exemplary rarity, says her supervisor Prof. Dirk Prüfer from the Institute of Biology and the Biotechnology of Plants. Viktoria is currently in her semester of practical training. And where is her path leading her? “We shall see,” she says. “Into teaching … or perhaps into politics.”
Author: Christina Hoppenbrock
This article was originally published in the university newspaper wissen|leben No. 3, 7 May 2025.