Bethel - The internship was the aha moment

"Music is infectious," says Marcel Klocke. When the area manager of the Weddinghofer Straße home in Kamen sees that clients are having a difficult day, he raps along with them: "I'm sitting in my room and everything is the same as always, eahh oh!" The music enables the 32-year-old to establish a special connection with people.

Marcel Klocke has been passionate about rap since his apprenticeship. At vocational school, he got to know the rapper "Der Wolf", who had enjoyed major chart success in the late 1990s and offered a rap workshop at school. Marcel Klocke was unsure at first, but he quickly took a liking to writing and rapping lyrics. His first performance in front of an audience was exciting, and although he had a text hang-up, he impressed the audience and the wolf with spontaneous rhymes. The professional musician recognised his talent: "He said I was spontaneous and had the ability to think of things quickly out of the blue and rap freestyle."

That was the decisive moment. „The internship was the 'aha' moment I had been waiting for,“ recalls the division manager. „I knew that's what I wanted: to be there for people! He had his secondary school leaving certificate, but he carried on, trained as a youth and home educator, obtained his secondary school leaving certificate, his A-levels and finally went to university. „I sat down on the seat of my trousers and had a real goal for the first time!“

During his training, Marcel Klocke already worked as a weekend helper at Bethel.regional. He completed his training year at the Winterkampweg home. He has been in charge of Haus Weddinghofer Straße since the beginning of 2023, making him one of the youngest division managers at Bethel.regional. „I grow with my tasks, even if it is sometimes difficult. It's like a diamond with me,“ he says and laughs. „Diamonds are created under pressure, and that's why I always need a bit of pressure to function well.“

Text: Tanja Lenz-Urbach | Photo: Christian Reiß