Continuing with our Sharing Stories series, this week we hear from Nina Gasparotto, a recently-graduated speech therapist.

“just because you;re outside of your comfort zone doesn't mean that you're in the wrong zone.”

I joined the AICS in 2007 and left in 2009. It was a short period, but enough to fascinate me on the subject of internationalization and all the different cultures of the world. 

After leaving the AICS, I attended a few schools before graduating at the Vavo in Alkmaar. With the Havo diploma in my pocket, I went to the HU University of Applied Sciences, where I studied Speech Language Pathology. During my studies I initiated and participated in many extracurricular projects, including talking to people from 100 countries to learn about their culture, their dreams, and their favorite traditional dessert. With all the knowledge that I gathered, I wrote a cookbook and shared it with friends and other students.

For the final part of my studies I did an internship in Belgium where speech therapy was combined with hippotherapy: all the sessions included horses. One of the things we did, for example, was to train the patient's vocabulary while brushing the horse. Seeing the interaction of the patients with these sensitive animals was inspiring. It was exciting to discover yet another country and to learn a very unique side of the paramedical world!

About one month ago I graduated as a Speech Therapist with Honours, it felt unreal to finally be a part of the professional world. I've decided to remain in Belgium and found a job in the Netherlands close to the border. This way, I can continue to enjoy a multicultural life.

One of my fondest memories at the AICS is discovering Nelly Furtado with my Canadian teacher Juf Lyndsay while looking at her pictures from Canada. It truly made me fantasize of a future in the wilderness, being one with nature and feeling free.

The words of wisdom I can offer are the following: "Just because you're outside of your comfort zone doesn't mean that you're in the wrong zone." I've continuously stepped outside of my comfort zone during my life, it felt scary, uncomfortable and strange. Doing precisely that is what brought me further in life and what helped me grow as a person. So always keep going!