Take 30 seconds to meet Paula Heeß, an amazing oikee from oikos Bayreuth, Germany. For over two years now, she has contributed to the work of our organization at local and international levels. She is a busy bee at oikos working as a member of the oikos Re-Structuring Working Group, FutureLab 2019 organizer, LEAP coach, and regional volunteer. She is a spirited, understanding and an all-around great person.
I first heard of oikos in 2016 when an oikos St. Gallen alumnus recommended the organization to me after he learned that I would study in Bayreuth. I was very curious about oikos since it had an interface with my business studies but also brought a new aspect to it. At that point in my life, I didn’t really know much about sustainability, and I didn’t reflect on the ecological footprint of many of my actions. But from my very first day as a member of oikos this changed…
Right at the beginning, I was very motivated and passionate about the work oikos did, and I felt very comfortable being part of this team. Day after day and event after the event, I became more and more involved in sustainability topics, gained knowledge on different aspects and shifted my way of life towards more sustainability. Now looking back at Paula of 2016, I am almost a bit ashamed of how little I knew about this urgent global situation. I do my best to help others not to make the same mistake. I try to improve myself a little more every day and to be a role model for others in my personal environment.
I would not have all this passion if it wasn’t for oikos. I have attended several international and national oikos meetings where I met inspiring and like-minded people. Moreover, I was lucky to participate in the LEAP Advanced Track 2017/2018 which helped me deal with my personal struggles and made me a more self-confident and authentic person. Since I wanted to give something back, I became a LEAP Coach one year later. What I really like about the LEAP meetings is that a lot of people contribute to it and help each other get better in different fields. I believe the biggest strength of oikos is our great community with so many talented people. Therefore, I’m part of the oikos Restructuring Working Group where we try to find ways for leveraging the power of our oikos network. I am certain of the fact that we can increase our impact if we collaborate more and our Working Group tries to make this possible.
I am very glad that so far, I’ve been able to experience oikos in a lot of different ways be it at a local level in Bayreuth or at an international level with LEAP, the German-speaking region, our Working Group, the FutureLab Team, and all the international meetings. I wish everyone to have equally enriching experiences with oikos and I hope that we will always continue striving for a better world!
