Afbeelding
Rocky start
“My first degree didn’t turn out to be what I wanted. Or at least, my student life didn’t work out. I ended up stopping and took time out working in the UK but it seems I actually have this innate need to study. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. My mum suggested hotel management at NHL Stenden, but leisure and events caught my eye. And the idea of a university of applied sciences with its practical approach, seemed right for me and matched my strengths and weaknesses better. I also liked the idea of facilitating an event and bringing people together in a common space and enjoying a moment together. It sounds great, doesn’t it? If I could facilitate an environment where people come together and enjoy themselves, it would be amazing. But it didn’t work out. I crashed again. I’d built a great social network around me but I didn’t get the grades or put in the work for my studies. It was another wake-up call, and I got given another chance. I switched to International Human Resource Management and changed my lifestyle. I’m so much happier now. More grounded. More self-aware. And with different priorities. And looking ahead, excited about what the future will bring.”
Motivation
“The move to international human resource management is in line with why I wanted to do leisure & events management, except the environment has changed to a professional workspace. The idea of being able to facilitate someone’s job in the future, to give them a better life, sounds so rewarding. And I’ve come to realise I need to stick my studies out. I really enjoy them now but I know my drive won’t be consistently high all year round. And yet that’s fine. I’ve got a deeper motivation to study now.”
Inconsistent productivity
“One of the things I’m learning the most now, is how to discipline myself, how best to approach my studies. And I’m learning how to work better in teams. I grew up in a multinational environment, so I hardly even notice that I’m working in an international group. That’s what I was used to at primary and secondary school too. What I do see in myself is that I like delegating. It feels like a good way of getting the group to be productive and keeping the peace as people do what they are good at. I still sometimes feel like I have a hard time starting but once I get started, I love it and wonder why I didn’t start earlier. It’s a constant up and down. But that's what it's like in real life too, right?
Deeper understanding
“I also like how the degree has given me a much deeper understanding of the complex systems at play in society and how they are linked. Whether it's about how companies create their values and can even help shape a country's national policies, or how we treat companies as separate entities when actually systems and markets can be strongly inter-connected. It's taught me to see how so many aspects of human resource management affect our everyday life.”