This was made possible by the part-time studies offered by The Hochschule Niederrhein, so that she could continue to work at the hospital and study at the same time. "It was no walk in the park, but I was supported by my parents, among others, so that I was able to fit everything in at the same time," she recalls today. She certainly didn't have a typical student life, but she always had the opportunity to talk to her fellow students, most of whom were younger, over a cup of coffee, for example. With a smile, she remembers how a student in her class once asked for a pair of scissors. Everyone was on first-name terms, but when she arrived at Elisabeth Pantazoglou's office, she switched to first-name respect.
Elisabeth Pantazoglou took everything she could in her studies, and that's exactly what she advises all students to do. Events and excursions or an additional English course have always helped her progress. Her practical knowledge from her MTA work on coding reportable pathogens led to her first job as a student assistant, and when she took up her master's degree in healthcare management she was still working as an MTA, but at the same time as an academic assistant, and this led seamlessly to employment at the Hochschule Niederrhein as a graduate staff member in various projects and as a lecturer. She had imagined the change from student to lecturer to be easier, but it was an enjoyable and exhausting experience to inspire students with the rather dry subject of medical documentation. It was her enthusiasm for this very subject that eventually led Elisabeth Pantazoglou to leave academia. As a Senior Requirement Manager at CompuGroup Medical, she now works in an international environment, and this is where the English course she also took at the university pays off: English is the colloquial language in the company and a necessary foundation course for creating data models. She has not completely lost her connection to HSNR, as she is currently supervising a student who is completing her internship with her.
The university in the region with the right programmes and the compatibility of studies, career and family made Elisabeth Pantazoglou's dream come true.
