Another great “Sharing Stories” episode.  This time from Daan Westermaan, who has just completed his Master’s in Brussels and is poised to begin a Commerce Traineeship with KPN.

“Define success on your own terms, and let whatever brings you happiness be the only form of measurement.”

I joined the AICS in the summer of 2007 where I started in group 7, until the summer of 2010 where I finished MYP2.  After MYP2 I transferred to a Dutch school called Hervormd Lyceum Zuid where I graduated from in the summer of 2015.

After graduating from secondary school I decided to take a gap year to work in hospitality as I wanted to save up some money before going to university. I worked in hospitality specially because I wanted to gather some necessary experience as I was applying for Hotelschool The Hague. After that gap year, I successfully joined Hotelschool The Hague where I graduated with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Hotel Management.

At the beginning of 2024, I started to pursue a Masters in International Management with a Concentration in Marketing Management at UIBS in Brussels. In December I successfully completed my Master’s after defending my thesis, and starting in February I will begin KPN’s Commerce Traineeship.

The fondest memories I have of my time at AICS was going to sailing camp at the beginning of the school year. We went to a large farm located close to a lake where the week was filled with sailing and other group activities that took you out of your comfort zone. This taught me a valuable lesson about working together and communicating with each other, even at such a young age. During that week you had the opportunity to get to know a lot about the people around you as everyone shared a lot about themselves, both happy and sad. This allowed you to bond a lot with your classmates, fostering friendships that lasted for years.

My advice to current AICS students would be: don't allow your success to be measured by tangible things or expectations from others. Success is about staying true to yourself, finding joy in whatever you do, and pursuing something with a passion that brings you fulfilment. Success isn't about checking boxes or meeting standards set by others. Define success on your own terms, and let whatever brings you happiness be the only form of measurement.