There is life after American Studies. That is the main message to be taken away from a special career event held at Radboud University on Friday. The conference, organized by the student board of the Netherlands American Studies Association, offered workshops, lectures and discussion sessions to about seventy American Studies students from all over the Netherlands.

Not unlike many of their peers, American Studies students sometimes struggle with envisioning their future after graduating from university. Pleun Weijers, who is the chairwoman of USA Nijmegen, explained on Friday that this was exactly the reason for organizing the so-called SNASA day. USA Nijmegen is one of five American Studies student association in the Netherlands and is, as such, an integral member of the Student Netherlands American Studies Association. Weijers and her fellow board members worked closely with colleagues from Amsterdam, Utrecht, Groningen and Leiden to set up Friday’s event.

‘My friends and I often ask ourselves what future lies ahead for us’, Weijers said. ‘Some wonder how we can put to use those things we learn during our few years studying. As a student association we think this is a question that we should at least try to help students to answer. Today is a perfect opportunity for us to do so. We have several highly interesting speakers who can perhaps inspire students to think differently about their future.’

One of the main attractions of the day was a plenary lecture given by Wim Geerts, political director at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also having served as ambassador for the Netherlands to Canada, the Radboud alumnus offered one of many career perspectives for attendees. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs  has traditionally been a well sought-after employer for American Studies students from Nijmegen and other parts of the Netherlands and it was no wonder that the room was packed with listeners.

Ambassador
But the program paid attention to other fields as well. Morning workshops offered by the Radboud Faculty of Arts career service focused on practical skills such as setting up a LinkedIn profile and writing resumes. The afternoon saw discussion sessions with American Studies alumni from the individual programs in the Netherlands. The speakers engaged with students by sharing personal experiences from their post-graduate professional life.

Halfway through the day, Weijers already had enough reason to reflect on the event positively. ‘So far, I have gotten positive responses from students. The mix of professional success stories and recognizable experiences make the interaction between alumni and students  very inspiring.’ / Frank Kruijsbeek