Bente Bruhnken

“I’d taken two gap years between secondary school and my studies and spent the time working and travelling abroad. I didn’t actually know what I wanted to study then but knew I loved travelling and quite liked the prospects of working in that industry. A friend had just started the International Hospitality Management programme and told me about the tourism degree NHL Stenden offered. I looked into it and it sounded amazing! I didn’t even look for a plan B anymore. My home town in Germany is only a 3-hour drive to Leeuwarden and I loved the opportunity to live abroad and speak a different language while still being able visit my family if I felt like it.” 

“I was positively surprised by how broad the International Tourism Management programme is, as it also covers hospitality, event & leisure, human resource management, marketing and a lot more, providing you with loads of career opportunities. I was also surprised to find out so much about the different negative impacts of tourism during my studies.” 

Tourism from an office 

“My internship started at Chimu Adventures, a travel operator based in Sydney that specialises in excursions to the Arctic regions and Latin America. For four months I was part of the marketing department and mostly wrote blogs, edited videos and learnt about graphic design. I was also helping out on their scenic flights to Antarctica, flying over Antarctica and seeing the Southern Lights. Definitely a highlight! I loved the people I worked with, enjoyed the tasks I had and the opportunities it came with. I learnt a lot about graphic design and Adobe programs like InDesign and Premiere Pro. I also really enjoy writing, so it was great fun to write blogs for the website. I also learnt a lot about myself during that time, including that I’m not made for desk jobs and big cities.” 

Fuelling dreams 

“I think internships are the perfect opportunity to make mistakes. They give you the chance to risk something, try something new, learn from the experience and then use it for your future. Cause either you realize you enjoy what you are doing so you can build on that, or you realize what you don’t like (like me), which is also a win and helps for your future. The major drawback is that you are often underpaid and cannot expect a full salary, so you need take your financial situation into account when moving abroad.” 

“I was planning on completing the remaining 3 months of my 7-month internship period in New Zealand, at Chimu’s sister company Viva Expeditions. However I decided to quit the internship after the part in Sydney, so I never actually went to New Zealand. I’d enjoyed the tasks I had at Chimu and definitely acquired some useful skills, but I’d also realized I didn’t want to work in an office. I felt that joining their sister company in Auckland wouldn’t have had enough additional value. Now I’m using the remainder of my Australian work permit to take a short break, working on farms in Western Australia. I'll complete the remaining three months of internship at a tourism company in Exmouth, on a campsite. Sydney was a great experience and it showed me what I don’t want for my life. Plus it fuelled my dream of setting up my own campsite sometime in the future and gave me a new dream to go on an excursion to Antarctica. Antarctica wasn’t on my radar before but after working for Chimu, I am now more than fascinated by the White Continent.”   

To find out more about the programme, check out the Tourism Management programme page or request the programme brochure. Or check out the different international opportunities NHL Stenden offers.