First time. First kiss. First webinar. Starting with a small idea with great enthusiasm, approval and support from all sides: today this goal of supporting the S6 and S7 European School students with regards to their choice of study was put into practice. This task “to support“ is one of the 4 core tasks of our Alumni Europae ASBL network.
Our network has a considerable number of Alumni from all the European Schools from across Europe, living all over the world, who are happy to share their own experiences and knowledge with today's Baccalauréat candidates.
Bringing them together was our aim and challenge.
One of the questions today was: “Wouldn’t it be nice to be a boss one day?”
Some of the questions answered today:
- “But is life after school really about this - being a boss?”
- “How do we deal with failure? With chances? With the impossible?”
- “What if…?”
We started our webinar program with the European School of Brussels I, Uccles. This webinar started with a greeting to all Alumni from the President of the European Commission, Madame Ursula von der Leyen, an alumna from the European School of Brussels 1. She stated in her message to her fellow alumni that “As alumni, we all have something in common: we grew up sharing cultures, languages and lifelong friendships across borders”. (Screen shot Webinar above. We will share her full greetings with you at a later date. Stay tuned.)
Yes, we have something in common, and we have our network to take best advantage of. We all went through preparing for life after school, we understand your needs!
Quotes from our alumni presenters sharing their experiences with us:
“Like what you do. Love what you do. Once you have a passion, go for it. Find your network. Keep on trying. Don’t be afraid to find new ways. There is so much importance in languages: you can reach other people if you speak the same language. I didn’t really have a plan when leaving school, but I listened to people to find out what was ‘right’. Analyse what you are good at, what distinguishes European School education from other educational systems. I have one nationality – we have one nationality in common that we all share: we are European. Life after attending a European School is hugely benefited by knowing multiple languages, multiple cultures, and being able to understand and handle them. There is also importance in trying new things. You should go for it, even if it seems impossible (Student of medicine at Cambridge).“
A firework of experience and valuable insights was shared with us today. And there will be plenty more to come.
We thank the Alumni Europae Presenters (in order of appearance):
Frank Rogalla
Andreas Utermann
Audrey Herz
Antonia Haist
Leo Nagy
as well as the Directors of the European Schools for their trust and support.