“Humanitarian aid gives me a purpose in life”

Growing up in the US, she heard about UCM by chance. “I wanted to follow lectures, but we only have these massive courses with up to 500 students. And the curricula are often fixed in advance. My mother, who—like my father—comes from Belgium, happened to hear about UCM. That you have small classes of 11 people at most and can put together your own curriculum. I was immediately drawn to that.”

She opted for a concentration in Life Sciences despite being unsure whether she intended to continue in the field. “I saw that as an advantage. The bachelor’s was exciting because it left doors open. I loved that flexibility and the emphasis on exploring your options. You learned to think across disciplines, solve problems, design research and draw your own conclusions. Those are the skills you need to tackle new things, and I benefit from them to this day. I love new challenges.”

That freedom of choice at UCM exposed her to the multiple angles from which healthcare can be approached. The focus can also lie on economic, sociological or political and administrative aspects. After graduating, Nizet first worked in a refugee centre in Serbia and later for an environmental organisation in Brussels. She then opted for a master’s in Global Health and Development at University College London. “I took courses in political science, anthropology and public health, which helped me develop a holistic approach to wellbeing and health.”

She is now based in Berlin, working for Doctors of the World, a humanitarian organisation that provides medical care to vulnerable people worldwide. Her appointment reveals the importance of personal networks, she says. “I’d been applying for jobs without much success. But my mother is in a WhatsApp group of French-speaking women in New York, and one of them was looking for someone to come and help Doctors of the World. It’s the kind of organisation I dreamed of joining.”