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New chapters and new beginnings: a conversation with our graduates

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Anu Marjan Reading time Minutes

Every year, thousands of students in Saxion are graduating and starting with a new chapter in their lives. Often, international students leave the Netherlands quickly and therefore might not share their wisdom they have gained during the studies with new students. Therefore, we decided to ask Saxion’s fresh new alumni Paula and Jesus about the end of their study careers!

First of all, congratulations! How does it feel to be graduated?

Paula: ''Thank you! Being graduated feels great, all the hard work from the last years finally paid off! However, graduating during pandemic might be a little bit problematic when it comes to job-search, especially in my field (hospitality).''

Jesus: ''It feels great because I achieved a life goal for my future. I'm a bit melancholic because of the time that I could have leveraged. But I am very happy despite that.''

Could you tell us a little bit more about your graduation project?

Paula: ''For my graduation project, I have created a social media marketing plan for my university program (Hotel/Hospitality Management). My client was the head of the Hospitality Business School at Saxion and we both agreed that it would be nice for the HM program to have more social media presence, especially during pandemic when it became rather difficult to travel to other countries for recruitment events.''

Jesus: ''My graduation project was a challenge which taught me new technologies and professional skills that are applied/used in any project that any professional might have in a company. I gained experience and knowledge for my future projects.''

How do you look back at your time at Saxion?

Paula: ''My time at Saxion was a period of growing up. I feel like I became more open-minded and aware of the world around us. Saxion introduced me to so many faces of my field (hospitality) and made me love it and be extremely excited about my future. Next to that, I met amazing people (lecturers, classmates, people I met during my internships) and I built long-lasting connections.''

Jesus: ''My time at Saxion was awesome. I learned a lot from other students as well as from my study program. Also, it was great to spend time in a city as an international student. It gives you new experiences and knowledge of a different culture.''

My time at Saxion was a period of growing up. I feel like I became more open-minded and aware of the world around us.

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Paula (Hotel Management alumni) reflects on her time at Saxion

What has been the most valuable lesson that you have you have learned during your student life?

Paula: ''Being an international student, I had to face many challenges during these past years. I think the most valuable lesson that I learned is that hard work and patience are taking you a long way. In the first year, my goals seemed to be so far away and I often had moments when I thought I could not make it or I wanted to quit. Now, I am happier than ever that I did not because I am at a point in life that I dreamt about 4-5 years ago.''


Jesus: ''I believe that the most valuable lesson is to manage the time efficiently for any project or activity that I would do in my life. Sometimes, I did not spend the proper amount of time that I had to for some activities or courses at Saxion. This is a life lesson.''

What are your plans for the future?

Paula: ''For now, I am going to start a Master’s in September 2021. I’ll study Marketing and Management for Luxury Tourism and I am extremely excited to start.''

Jesus: ''I am planning to work in the field where I am graduating (technology). So, I'll keep learning about programming languages and software architecture. Also, about new upcoming technologies in areas such as internet, embedded software, and electronic devices.''

We wish Paula and Jesus, beside all other graduated students, the best of luck for their future!

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Anu Marjan

 My name is Anu Marjan and I am a 3rd year physiotherapy student from Estonia. My hobbies are hiking, skiing, disc-golf and gaming. I love to write on topics that I care about and that I think could be useful for others. 

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