Alumni dreams #193

After graduating Sallie van Stigt decided to take a gap year to find out where to next direct her curiosity. While the BA International Studies offered a variety of courses, already shaping her thought process and worldview, more time to specify her wide interests was very welcome.

During her BA she learnt a lot from studying abroad in Mexico and the PRINS course, where she joined a student-consultancy group for the Fair Wair Foundation researching global power structures. Sallie was also able to deepen her knowledge on multiple topics during the Honours Program ‘Expedition’.

To stay in the power structure sphere, she wrote her thesis on gender inequality and started an internship at a gender NGO. She now manages the social channels for another small media initiative called ‘Het Europese Huis’.

In the future she would like to contribute to a more just world, where distinct voices are equally heard and valued.

During these uncertain times Sallie would like to encourage everyone to reach out when you need help, stay open-minded towards others and use your own brain. Let's hope for and work towards unity instead of polarization!

Alumni dreams #215

Maya Poeran started this BA mainly because of its international focus and its multidisciplinary approach. She was particularly interested in the region of Latin America. 

One of the highlights of her studies was receiving a scholarship for a summer school program in Mexico. This program was a great opportunity for her to learn more about Latin America as a region and be on the ground and active in a Spanish-speaking country. It also gave her valuable knowledge on the Mexican perspective in relation to her other International Studies courses.  

After she graduated amidst the pandemic, Maya took a gap year to gain more work experience and think about master studies. She ended up becoming a board member and academic coordinator at an NGO that focused on offering language classes and setting up events for refugees in the Hague. After her gap year, she enrolled in the master program International Relations in Historical Perspective at Utrecht University. 

Last year, Maya had the opportunity to do an internship at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As she has now finished her Masters, she is in the middle of searching for a job in the financial sector. 

"Looking back upon my time at International Studies, I can safely say I never regretted my choice to study the BA, as it provides a sound foundation for the job market.''

We hope you find your dream job soon Maya!

Alumni dreams #216

International Studies, for Moritz, was a great combination of his different interests. Latin America always appealed to him. The different Latin American cultures, ecosystems and political/historical processes are unique and extremely diverse, which he finds fascinating! 

When studying the BA Moritz also became a part of the BASIS board - a fun and interesting experience according to him. In his third year, he was also able to go on exchange and studied in Australia. "The bachelor very much demonstrated to me that it is important to be critical towards power dynamics and to not take economic or political processes for face value.''

After graduating from International Studies, Moritz started an MSc at Wageningen University right away, especially since the pandemic had just started. Currently, he works for the German Development Agency (GIZ) in Berlin. Both his work and life in Berlin allow him to get to meet interesting people on a regular basis and face new and exciting challenges. His focus is on environmental policy and organization, specifically geared towards natural resource governance. This topic is what he cares about most professionally and his mission is to contribute to redefining our relationship with the environment. He aims to challenge existing natural resource governance regimes in an international context and help foster sustainable practice in relation to our natural resources.

''It's incredibly important to do what you are passionate about and to not let anyone tell you different. Work and professional life can be fun, but only if your work is meaningful to you. Being proactive really is the key.''

We totally agree Moritz, and are looking forward to see what you’ll do next!