Alumni dreams #200

Amber Breugem graduated specializing in Europe and Spanish. While writing her thesis on the criminalization of hate speech (9,3) she realized she wanted to obtain a law degree as well.

She loved the multidisciplinary nature of the BA, its international environment and the PRINS course (won) enabling interaction with companies. Her exchange at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid was very valuable, she could fully immerse in the country and its language.

Law required a whole new way of studying. Amber eventually got the hang of it and is now a third-year at Leiden and volunteers as legal advisor. During studies she has always worked at ProDemos teaching high school students about Dutch politics.

In the fall she will be welcoming new students as a student tutor familiarizing them with studying law in times of a pandemic. The global crisis also gave time to pause and invest in other passions, music and photography.

If the virus stays within its limits 2021 is for new challenges: studying law in French at the Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris. Studying law in an international environment, speaking a foreign language; everything falls into place eventually!

Alumni Dreams #205

After graduating Andrew Bellingham was determined to jump straight into the job market rather than pursue a Master's. He decided to enter the private sector and joined Revinate an American hospitality tech company as Sales Development Representative.

It was difficult but rewarding as it required cold calling/emailing 100s of prospects a week, after 11 months he was promoted to Territory Sales Manager. He managed the entire sales cycle, selling their guest data platform to hotels in Benelux and Scandinavia. The company helped him realise his passion and talent for sales and provided an excellent launch pad into his current role.

Recently Andrew joined the cryptocurrency firm Coinify, he relocated to Copenhagen and joined the sales team within their trade division. For this role he sells cryptocurrency trading infrastructure to cryptocurrency exchanges, brokerages, trusts and digital wallets all around the world.

Thanks to the BA he says, and the broad exposure it provided Andrew was able to identify, and hone in on various interests and skill sets. International Studies drove his curiosity, and provided confidence to go out and discover new industries and roles in the workplace; and ultimately find his passion.