Roos de Vries (18, advanced technology, from California, USA), Quinton Denman (19, creative technology, from South-Africa/Dubai) and Chynna Wan (18, international business administration, from Boston, USA) are three of those Bachelor students. UT-News asked them how they ended up here.
Why did you come to the Netherlands to study?
Roos (left on photo): ‘I was looking for adventure and wanted to go somewhere outside of the USA. Besides that, my parents are from the Netherlands and Dutch is my main language. I also have Dutch citizenship. The choice for the Netherlands was easily made. I came to Enschede specifically, because I could do a technical study on a campus.’
Chynna: ‘My dad is from Hong Kong and my mom is from the Netherlands. Like Roos, I have Dutch citizenship. In comparison to the student fees in the USA, the Netherlands is very cheap, which is why I came here. I looked at other universities within the Netherlands as well, but I felt most at home here at the UT.’
Quinton:‘I came here to study CreaTe. There are only two places where it is possible to study this program, in New-Zealand and the Netherlands. The latter is closer to where I’m from.’
What do you think of Enschede?
Quinton: ‘Obviously it is very different compared to Dubai. In Dubai you go to big malls when you want to go shopping, whilst here, there are all these small independent shops. This confuses me sometimes, because I don’t always know where to go to get what I want.’
Roos: ‘The atmosphere is very different from California. It is less capitalistic and competitive compared to where I’m from. Here, I have more freedom to make mistakes and do whatever I want to do.’
Chynna: ‘I love it here. Enschede is quaint but it is still a city so everything is accessible. That is different to what I am used to. I am from a small town near boston and sometimes we had to drive quite far to be able to go to a concert, for example. Now I can go everywhere by bike.’
How do you like cycling so far?
Chynna: ‘I love cycling. I have always been very conscious of the carbon footprint we leave behind by using cars all the time. In the US, everyone does everything by car. Here I can cycle, it is better for the environment and better for my wallet.
Roos: ‘In the beginning I would get a lot of muscle pains every time I cycled. Now I’ve gotten used to it and I can even cycle without using my hands! The weather here is tricky. It is colder than in California and very unpredictable, so I have to wear layers of clothes now.’
Quinton: ‘My biggest problem was that I suddenly needed to start thinking about the weather. Especially when I need to cycle somewhere. The weather is so varied here. In Dubai it usually is the same the whole year through.’
Did you choose the right study?
Quinton: ‘I am enjoying my studies very much. Create is chill and easy-going. I also like that I can combine my technical courses with courses like sketching.’
Roos: ‘I wanted to do something technical and challenging. AT is that for me, and I’ve been enjoying myself so far.’
Chynna: ‘I am pleasantly surprised with my choice of study. For me, IBA is the right study at the right university.’
