I WILL Journey

Your Journey is a story waiting to be told.

"I WILL use knowledge to enact change"

"As you may have noticed, the most important word of my statement is knowledge’. As an empirically driven person, I believe in making decisions based on facts. For this, you must first focus on being educated: whether it is by pursuing further studies or simply by following the news. This education is the foundation of decision-making and guides us with frameworks, numbers and data.

Born in a multicultural environment – French, Spanish, and Canadian – I have always been confronted with perspectives, sometimes conflicting, and have had to learn to go back to the essence of that knowledge to decide what to believe. Knowledge sets a path for us; knowledge helps us change the world. Because it is difficult to distinguish a good from a bad change in certain situations, it’s my opinion that we should use those hard and cold facts to drive change. Also, reverting my statement, change should also occur with the infusion of knowledge in other people. We should strive to lead and inspire thanks to knowledge.

Again, the first step to knowledge is education. RSM has more knowledge than any human being can consume: through its lectures and seminars, it is at the forefront of the revolution of ideas happening across the world. After all, we are in the Information Age. RSM is teaching me to learn in this world of constant change; it is also inspiring me to make a positive change. So, my I WILL journey has already started; I’m in a phase of absorbing information. I’m learning. At the same time, I’m also preparing myself to lead change and to take initiative."

– Diego Martin de Lagarde

Student, BSc International Business Administration

Your Journey is a story waiting to be told.

“I WILL unite people to create a sustainable future”

“Sustainability is living with intention for me. I find purpose in working towards not only my needs and wants from life, but also ensuring future generations get access to the same resources to fulfil their own.

From what I have learned about global environment concerns, a key piece to solving this puzzle is a collective effort. ‘I WILL unite people to create a sustainable future’ begins with joining associations on campus that strive to make students realise that they can be changemakers when it comes to solving climate crises with simple everyday choices.

In the long run, I see myself developing sustainable urban living projects. The way we live together can transform our lives and our planet for the better.”

– Zainab Syeda

(Student, BSc International Business Administration)

Your Journey is a story waiting to be told.

"I WILL start my own NGO"

"Growing up in Egypt, I constantly witnessed the problem of youth unemployment first-hand: while there is an exponentially growing youthful population, there is inefficiency in reaping the benefits of this opportunity.

My mother is the CEO of an NGO that promotes education and employment for the under-privileged young people. I witnessed how hope is restored to the youth through training and job opportunities: these job placements do not only benefit these young people, but also open the door to support their entire families. This moment sparked an epiphany for me; I recognised how privileged I was to be able to get an international education and learn about having an entrepreneurial mindset. I realised that I want to use my privilege and education to help make a change, either in the accessibility of quality education to children or in the provision of microfinancing and entrepreneurship opportunities.

While I still have to finalise my idea, I’m gathering relevant experience and knowledge in the subject. I decided to pursue a minor in African Dynamics to learn more about the history of the continent and its countries as well as the respective opportunities and collaboration prospects.

I’m also the head of fundraising at the UNICEF Student Team in Rotterdam, where we are raising money and awareness for the TeamUp programme in Uganda, which aims to provide psychosocial support to refugee children. I’m trying to do as much volunteer work as I can while learning about what is needed to help make my dream tangible."

– Nazly Abd El Rahman

(Student, BSc International Business Administration)