A luxurious source of great misery. The labour market is tight, there’s a world of possibilities ahead of you… Once you graduate, it’s time to start making decisions. How can you make the right ones? Alumnus Rolf Schrama coaches excellent student Eva de Jong.
Eva de Jong is hardly mainstream: she combined two Bachelor degrees in Cultural Anthropology and Law. ‘My lecturers always said: ‘You can’t keep combining the two, you’ll have to choose.’ She didn’t listen and managed to organise things so that they worked out just fine. ‘If you just ask people for what you need, degree programmes turn out to be quite flexible. There are always more options than you might think.’
Money and status
Options are great. Last September, De Jong won the StudenTalent award with her tremendous CV. That’s why she’s now sitting outside The Basket on the VU campus as a near-graduate lawyer with two specialisations. Sitting opposite her, is her coach: Rolf Schrama, part of the award. Business economist Schrama began his career by pursuing money and status, but once he had become a successful businessman, he reconsidered. After spending some time as competitive sailor, he is now a speaker and author who aims to inspire others and protect them from making the same mistakes he made.
Schrama: ‘I started off my career under false pretenses, believing that status was all that mattered. I want to help Eva discover her core qualities. She wants to work with people, so I helped her look beyond becoming a lawyer, which is what she had in mind. After graduating, it can be tempting to quickly pick a single direction, following your peers. Halfway, however, you might realise that you picked the wrong direction. Making a more conscious decision is often better. Plotting your own, unique path also helps get rid of a lot of tension and competition, which is very liberating!’
Elderly care?
Together, they tried to find other professions that might suit De Jong. What about elderly care, for instance? That also involves helping people. De Jong quickly came to the conclusion, however, that she also wants to be triggered by the puzzling and analysing that comes with working as a lawyer. She has also realised, however, that she isn’t looking for a large Zuidas firm that mainly works with companies either. Preferably, she’d like to combine working as a lawyer with research and volunteering. ‘I don’t want to pick a single direction: combining several different directions is what I’m good at. I plot my own path.’ This was already apparent when she decided to tackle two bachelor degree programmes at once, but now a clear pattern has emerged.
Ultimate
De Jong has had a turbulent year. Her mother had a serious car accident, and Schrama and his wife had their first child, which is why they usually communicated by email. One day, De Jong visited Schrama at home. De Jong: ‘Seeing Rolf, his wife, and their child, I realised that they’d found ultimate happiness.’ Schrama agrees: Recent graduates often focus entirely on their careers, their CV and on performing. But there’s more.’
De Jong has chosen to delay her final choice, deciding to spend an extra year on her Master’s degree. ‘It’s so much fun and there’s still plenty of time for work in the future. Why should I rush it? She also says: ‘I’d recommend doing two degrees to anyone!’ It’s possible, but it’s also important to consider it carefully, deciding whether it’s the right path for you.
The StudenTalent award is granted annually during the opening of the VU academic year, intended for the most talented VU student who has also shown a commitment to society and to the university. In addition to a €5000 prize, the winner receives a year’s worth of coaching sessions with a VU alumnus.
