Does not fit on a beer mat

Exactly 130 years ago, Johann Schmid took over the Waldhaus private brewery in the southern Black Forest, built in 1833 by Altvogt Dietsche, thus founding the brewing family that still exists today. The ancestor's great-granddaughter Janina Schmid has now witnessed 25 years of the brewery's history. Two years before she was born, her grandfather Helmar Schmid handed over the management of the business to her father Dieter Schmid. Waldhaus itself is a place that mainly consists of the brewery building and the brewery restaurant as well as a few residential buildings. "My brother and I grew up well protected in the middle of nature, which gave us a lot of freedom," says Janina Schmid.

It would never have occurred to her parents to exert pressure on their children, let alone dictate their paths in the family business. "Nevertheless, it's only natural that as an entrepreneurial child you build up a close connection to the family-run business and a family relationship with the people who work there from an early age," explains Schmid. "This inevitably leads to the idea of continuing the long-standing family tradition at some point and taking responsibility not only for yourself, but also for others." However, it took a few more years before the siblings realized that they should join the family business.

Until then, Janina Schmid initially pursued other interests. Inspired by her mother, who worked as an art teacher, and her grandfather, who chiseled gravestones, she tried her hand at various artistic techniques and media such as painting, photography and theater during her childhood and youth. However, she spent most of her time with music. She first learned to play the piano and later the violin. She taught herself to elicit the right notes from the guitar and cello. And she took part in school music and band projects as a bass player and singer. But despite all the fun, discipline was never neglected, as Janina Schmid attended a nearby Jesuit college, including Saturday lessons, Thursday mass and morning prayers. "I can still recite the Lord's Prayer in German, English and Latin today," remarks Schmid. What she loved even more, however, was the international flair and the resulting diverse perspectives, as well as the opportunity to "try out anything I wanted" in various working groups.

Janina Schmid's interest in economics and, initially, mathematics was rather neglected. However, this changed abruptly when she attended an English boarding school for a year, where she came into contact with economics courses for the first time and mastered one level of math after another under emphatic guidance. "Like school, boarding school was a place where I was encouraged a lot, but also where I could do a lot - only this time it was subjects that weren't my favorites before, but ultimately played an important role in my A-levels," explains Schmid.

How companies and products sell: These were questions that were of burning interest to Janina Schmid in her economics courses and which led to her desire to combine the economic and creative components in her first internships. In the family business and in advertising agencies, she learned more about presenting both her own and other brands in the analog and digital world. The fact that there is a university that offers a combination of both components in one degree course, as well as a family atmosphere, a colorful landscape of initiatives and a scenic region: a friend from her school days who studied at ZU told her about this.

"What I had heard about ZU was confirmed from the very first moment. Even as a first-year student, I never felt lost, I always felt at home," Schmid mentions. "In general, studying at ZU was the best decision of my life." This is also demonstrated by her tireless commitment to the university. Whether at her school, at national fairs or on site at the university: Janina Schmid has supported ZU everywhere and as often as possible in introducing herself to prospective students. "I simply want many more people to find out about this special place and its limitless opportunities. The university offers countless opportunities to try things out and make mistakes - but in an environment that not only supports but also appreciates what you do," says Schmid. "I have become the best version of myself here - and I hope that others feel the same way."