Ceres Brouwer - NAHSS

If I am honest though, back then I was terrified whether or not I would pass the
selection round considering the other students present during the information
session. Yet… I decided to throw that statistics-calculating-my-chances-of-acceptance overboard and just applied… realising that after all, I had nothing to lose.

A couple weeks later I received the call that I was through and was officially part of the delegation of the NAHSS and my goodness, what a start of a beautiful adventure that was! Out of all the decisions I have made during my bachelor studies, I can honestly say that joining the NAHSS has been by far the most exciting, fun, insightful, inspiring and fulfilling experience of my entire bachelor studies! Period! Full stop! No doubt! No joke!

Here is why: I feel empowered with the problem solving approaches that I learnt and used during the NAHSS which I still abundantly apply today throughout my studies and projects. I feel so much more confident going from complex problems and questions to concrete points of actions and advice.

In addition, the NAHSS has given me a much clearer picture of what I want to study for my masters and what I want to pursue in my career. This is thanks to the broad variety of company visits and experiences we could “taste test” during the program. We could ask any questions on our minds during these visits and get “behind the scenes” views of these companies and organisations that we would normally never get access to. This also helps create a clear picture of what challenges and breakthroughs the academic and business world are facing and how you could help contribute.

Furthermore, the NAHSS also left a strong impression for me regarding what it is like to work in different company and organisation cultures. This helped me shape what I like and value in a work environment and what I do not through direct experience.
The NAHSS has also been a gateway for me to come across internships and programs that I believe I otherwise would not have known about or wouldn’t have gained access to. To this day I am still amazed at how many doors this program has opened for me. In addition, the three weeks that I spent in Southeast Asia with my delegation also made me feel so much more confident and comfortable putting my ideas forward and bridging Southeast Asia with The Netherlands.

My dearest takeaways are the beautiful memories and inspiring friends for life that I have made during this program. All in all, within just a few months time I have seen a tremendous amount of growth within myself both personally and professionally all whilst having the most fun during my entire bachelor experience!

If the NAHSS sounds like something for you as well I am excited for you to embark on a beautiful NAHSS experience as well and I hope to come across you at one of the NAHSS alumni events. My advice to anyone doubting whether they will make it through the selection:

• Give it a try! What do you have to lose?!
• Take your time writing the application and enjoy the process.
• Get a nice warm cup of tea or coffee and start crafting your ideas and stories onto paper bit by bit.
• When still in doubt about your admission you can always ask the board for possibilities and potential workarounds, they are super friendly and open to any questions so please do reach out to them if this is your worry.
• Stay true to your genuine identity and qualities and let that shine through your application documents.

In case you have any questions regarding my NAHSS experiences feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’d be more than happy to help out with any questions you might have.
For any general questions about the NAHSS program you can always reach out to
info@nahss.nl and the board will be more than happy to help you out :)

Cheers and have an awesome day,
Ceres

Back to Talent Development