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World Mag > WM Summer 2013 edition > Interview with Sijmen van Groningen

Interview with Sijmen van Groningen

Sijmen van Groningen Class of 2010
Sijmen van Groningen Class of 2010

WM: What have you been doing since AISB? 

SVG: I graduated from AISB in 2010, since then I’ve moved to Groningen, the Netherlands to study International Business. In my freshman year of university I decided to take up high performance rowing, which has taken up the majority of my time, training 12x a week, alongside my studies. Next to studying and rowing I’ve been active in several student committees. Other then that, I haven’t been up to all that much. 

WM: What was the key moment in your life when you realized what you want to do/what career to pursue? Who or what in uenced you to become who and what you are today? Explain AISB's part of it.

SVG: I was never academically brilliant, unless I really really tried, which was rare. InsteadI opted to balance as many extra curricular activities as I could in my schedule. MUN, ToK, and History really convinced me that my skills set lay more of the problem-solving end of the spectrum, which is why I opted to go for getting an MBA then go on to do another masters in Law. I always took it for granted at AISB, but it still astonishes me to see how many opportunities I was given at AISB to discover what I liked and enjoyed, and am thankful for that. 

WM: Tell us a "crazy" AISB memory and name 3 AISB "partners in crime" 

SVG: A crazy AISB memory? To be honest I was always quite lame, but I guess the most badass thing I ever did was skip the rst half of IB math with Abhishek Puri & Sean Campell every other Thursday morning, opting instead to take a nap. This was obviously done because we were always sleep deprived from working SO hard. 

WM: You have the chance to give advice to the current students. What would you say?

SVG: In my opinion, at this point in life, it’s very important to be ambitious, gure out what it is you really enjoy in life, and not be afraid
of unattainable goals. Go for it, and don’t let anything stop you, no matter what people say and how much people doubt you. It may be a little cliché, but still. 

WM: What do you think the AA's priorities should be? What AA activities would you like to see happening or attend?

In my opinion it’s important that the AA give alumni the opportunity to keep in touch as much as possible. Its hard to keep in touch with the good friends we’ve made at AISB as it is, so I think it should be the AA’s priority to provide alumni with the opportunity to meet old school mates and develop a network of relationships that will last a life time. As of what id like to see happening, I guess more opportunities for alumni to visit school again. 

Read the entire WORLD Magazine Summer 2013 edition here.
 

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