In conversation with Raphael Kirchgäßner - October 2023

In the online interview, the former Schloss student explains that he left school in 2013 after graduating and now lives with his family in Oregon, USA. He has a PhD position there and is researching artificial intelligence and breast cancer. He remembers his time at school well and realizes today that his time at school made him more reflective and self-confident. Today, he is grateful that he can actively improve people's lives professionally - this is his personal motive and he is very proud of it!

What is the first thing that spontaneously comes to mind when you think of your time at the Schloss-Schule?
I had my ups and downs at the Schloss-Schule. My biggest high is definitely that I was able to meet my wife through a fellow pupil! Looking back, I also feel that I received a lot of support at the Schloss-Schule, especially from Eva Borchers. She has closely supported me and my mother over the years. I was able to try out a lot and that was very helpful as a teenager. I spent a total of 8 years at the school and my most formative developmental periods as a young adult took place in Kirchberg.

Would you like to tell us something about your time at school before you came to the SK?
I went to elementary school in a fairly small town near Karlsruhe. The school was next door to our house. I then went to a secondary school with a strong musical focus in Lahr in the Black Forest. But when I had to change my schooling, I had to find alternatives. That's why I ended up at the Schloss-Schule, pushed by my parents. That was more or less by chance. There were no connections to Kirchberg or the Schloss Schule.

What has changed in Kirchberg?
A lot has changed for me. I had completely new influences from the teachers and educators. I experienced clear structures and the close connection between the school and boarding school meant that contacts and relationships were very intensive. Looking back, this was very helpful for me personally. This contact also had a very strong influence on me.

What did you experience as formative? What values, life lessons and other things still stay with you today?
There are many things that I learned at school and at boarding school. I learned to be more reflective and have become much more self-confident thanks to the experiences, support and encouragement. I also learned what diplomatic skills mean in human interaction. Without the years at the Schloss-Schule, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

What happened after the SK?
After graduating in 2013, I went back to Karlsruhe. There I studied business informatics together with another Schloss-Schule student and was taken on by the university as an academic assistant after graduating. In this context, it was my job to teach the lower semesters in the field of programming and to support courses as a teaching assistant. In March 2018, I moved to the USA, more precisely to Portland, Oregon, together with my wife. She got a position as a doctoral student and I initially came with her without a specific professional position. Until 2019, I spent a lot of time studying on site and used the time to prepare the foundation of my company. In September 2019, I also received a PhD position at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and have since been working in cancer research, more specifically breast cancer, with a focus on developing AI models. Shortly after, in May 2020, my daughter was born. Being a parent has shown me once again how important it is to set the right priorities and work towards what is really important to you and makes you happy.
In 2021, I founded two companies that I run together with business partners. One of the companies is an AI-based cloud platform for musicians and composers. The other is an IT consulting company in the areas of data science & IT infrastructure. A very important topic these days. In America, it is much less complicated and easier to set up a company. There is a different dynamic in the start-up sector here. However, I would like to make it very clear that cancer research is my absolute main focus. I also work on this as a 100% employee. The work I have to do in the companies can be freely divided up. In cancer research, I follow my heart and my basic motivation to work on something that makes the world a better place.

What stories and anecdotes do you remember from your school days?
I can still remember that I spent a lot of time with my computer back then and took my first steps in the field of game development. I developed my own game and had to test it. Of course, the mentors always came into the room when I was playing (test) games and, I think, often didn't believe that I was really programming and that it wasn't just an excuse to be allowed to sit at the PC more. I also remember 2 project days in particular. One was an adventure project day on which we built our own rafts and navigated through the forest in two larger groups, equipped with radios and maps. The twist was that the two groups had the other group's route and had to navigate to their destination together as a team. The other example is the last project days that I experienced as a pupil. Under my leadership and with the support of many pupils, from young to old, we recreated the castle school in Minecraft. A small group even networked our virtual replica with electricity and corresponding lights. I am still pleasantly surprised by the willingness of the school management, including Jürgen Scharch, to allow pupils to work actively on the computer in a self-managed way. The virtual school replica was a complete success and was finished on time and finally presented to the public.
We did a lot of great things back then, such as the aforementioned adventure project days. Unfortunately, as a pupil you sometimes perceive things differently. You don't feel like doing a lot of things at first. But in retrospect, it was really great what we did and undertook. This also shaped my personality and development.

What are you grateful for?
I am infinitely grateful for my family; my wife and daughter. I am also grateful for my position at OHSU, which gives me the opportunity to be directly involved in the very latest developments and to actively pursue my own motivation to help and support people. True to the motto: "[...] to boldly go where no man has gone before".

Looking back on your time at school, what would you do differently today?
I would probably try to pursue my interest in IT even more today and try to bring this even closer to my mentors and teachers. When I was at school, IT was much less present in the classroom and in everyday life. IT has so much more to do than just playing computer games and as we can see, especially in today's world, things would no longer work without IT.

Would you like to support the school and the current students? If so, what could you imagine doing?
I can well imagine giving talks for the pupils. Here I can provide information about my work, also about my CV and what my or our life is like here in the USA. I can also imagine doing this on a recurring basis. Also when it comes to informing young people about how we moved the center of our lives to Oregon and how different the USA is from Europe. I am happy to provide assistance and answer questions. I think it's important to be sufficiently informed in order to form a clear picture and an informed opinion. If the students are interested, I am also happy to give insights into academia (science) that you don't usually get at school.

What else would you like to share?
Basically, I like to offer support to students and look forward to accompanying people of all ages and giving them help wherever it is needed. Personally, I think it's important to find something motivating in life where you can use your strengths and energy