Another great addition to our ‘Sharing Stories’ series.  This week we hear from Aleksander Stypczynski, a Production Engineer and Master’s student.

It’s better to live with the aftermath of a failed attempt at something you longed to be, than to spend your life wondering about what could have been, but never was.

I joined AICS in 2017 and graduated in 2019.  After graduating, I initially planned a gap year to travel, work, and explore personal pursuits. Unfortunately, my plans shifted as global travel came to a halt due to COVID-related border closures. After a year of working, I decided to dive back into academia and pursued a Bachelor’s degree at Utrecht University, focusing on ancient history.

In 2023, I completed my degree and immediately embarked on a Research Master’s in ancient history. Similarly to my interests, my research focus tends to jump from one subject to another. My most recent project focuses on how people practiced, experienced and viewed necromancy in ancient Greece. Outside of the university curriculum, I recently joined an excavation project in Uzbekistan, where I assisted in excavating a rural agricultural settlement of Kulal Tepa. Furthermore, in November of last year, I had the pleasure of organizing a numismatic exhibition in the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome, and I recently got accepted into an archaeological project in Iraq.

Alongside my studies, I work part-time as a production engineer at DeltaProto; practice judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu; work on my photography portfolio, and I am preparing my first stand-up show happening at the end of January.

One of my fondest memories at AICS is spending quiet afternoons with my peers in the lounge on the top floor. I can still picture the heavy rain tapping against the windows, the soft murmur of conversations blending with the steady rhythm of the downpour outside. We’d snack on our lunches, sipping on warm drinks or sodas, our voices drifting between schoolwork, personal stories, and casual plans to meet up after class. It wasn’t a moment of grand excitement or unforgettable drama, but I always look back on those times with a sense of peace and innocence—like a little pocket of calm in an otherwise busy world.  

My advice to current AICS students would be, that the regret of a decision made, and the consequences that follow, are more forgetful than the regret over missed opportunities. It’s better to live with the aftermath of a failed attempt at something you longed to be, than to spend your life wondering about what could have been, but never was.