How it all started for Samantha
“In 2017, I participated in three Master Yourself workshops, including one at ING in Roermond. The subject appealed to me and I already had the idea in the back of my mind of ​​wanting to do an internship at that bank. My father also worked there, so I more or less grew up with it in Curaçao.”

How to get an internship at ING
“The workshop was challenging and interactive, about how a bank adapts to these times. There, I also spoke with a relationship manager and then connected with him on LinkedIn. Consequently, he later saw on my profile that I was looking for an internship in the area of sustainable finance. They had two placements that I could choose from: an English-language internship with a focus on marketing and sustainability and a Dutch-language internship involving finance and sustainability. Working in Dutch and finance were still missing on my CV, so I chose that. I looked for a room in Amsterdam and moved to Southeast Amsterdam/Amsterdam Arena for three months.”

Why a gap year is highly recommended
“If there’s one thing that makes me happy, it’s getting outside of my comfort zone. I also did that six years ago when I came alone to Maastricht from Curaçao for the bachelor's programme in International Business. If I hadn’t taken a gap year afterwards, I never would’ve dared to follow a master's degree in finance, let alone two. I discovered that I could manage it really well. During that gap year, I did, among other things, an internship in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where I danced salsa every night. I also rediscovered salsa during that year, because during my bachelor’s programme I worked very hard and perhaps didn’t make enough time for fun things.”

What Samantha did exactly at ING
“I worked at ING in a small team, the Structured Finance Department. They’re involved in the financing of sustainable projects, such as windmills and solar panels. That requires a different structure than just a loan. There are also many legal issues involved, for example, that I hadn’t covered in my study. The guidance was superb. I learned how diverse professional practice is.”

What she is doing now
“After three months in Amsterdam, I went back to Maastricht for more education and I’m now writing my thesis, in collaboration with the team from Amsterdam. My thesis is about how you can motivate Dutch companies to put solar panels on their roof. In the summer, I’ll graduate from both of my master’s programmes: Marketing Finance and Sustainable Finance.”

And what she wants to do next
“I love to challenge myself, to do things that at first make me think, ‘I must be crazy to do this’, and to end up feeling like, ‘This is great!’. I’d also prefer to live longer in a place that has a different culture. You can learn something from each country and you only see that when you live there longer. I really want to do that.”

Finally: Samantha’s motto
“If you’re willing to work hard, anything is possible.”

Soon, you can read Maxime Heyndrickx (master’s student Public Policy & Human Development) talk about the offer he got from Medtronic after participating in a Master Yourself workshop there.

Also read the previous story about Master Yourself on the UM website.