Willem van de Riet, Class of 2009

I had heard that UCU offers high level education. After visiting the open day, I was sure UCU was where I wanted to go.

Major Social Sciences (International Relations, Politics, Law and Economics)

Further education MSc in International Relations at London School of Economics

Position Second secretary at Netherlands Embassy

Location Beirut, Lebanon

Everyone around me at UCU was motivated to study hard

Like many UCU students I wasn’t interested in one particular area; I liked economics but I also liked philosophy, Greek and Latin. Besides that the idea of living on a campus as well as in Utrecht really attracted me. I had heard that UCU offers high level education. After visiting the open day, I was sure UCU was where I wanted to go.

I felt at ease on UCU’s campus fairly quickly. What immediately struck me was the fact that everyone around me was motivated to study hard; people all wanted to get the best out of themselves, whereas in school you were there because you had to. Of course there was pressure, especially around the finals, but we were all in it together.

Still connected to UCU

I’ve been working for Foreign Affairs since July 2014. It’s extremely interesting and the more I learn about it, the less I understand the whole picture. What I like about working in the diplomatic arena is that you get to focus on the content of political issues and that you can really have an impact on foreign policy.

I still feel very connected to UCU and I made a lot of friends for life during my time on campus. Staying connected to UCU is very important to me and I’m convinced there is a lot of goodwill amongst alumni to give back, although I realise it depends on everyone’s personal situation how or to what extent they are able to contribute.