de Vries-Szczygieł

Data aktualizacji:
09-04-2020- 19:21

Anna

de Vries-Szczygieł

New roads in the country of tulips

Year of graduation
2000
City/town
Aalsmeer
Country
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Title/ degree
MA
Field of studies
Quantitative Methods in Economy and Information Systems

My professional career began right after graduation, when I went to the country of tulips and found a job at ING Bank. I worked there a year, only with Dutch people. Thanks to this, I quickly mastered the language and learned a lot about the culture of work in this country. However, I gained my greatest professional experience at the American company Hewlett-Packard, where I worked for 10 years. There, I developed skills in process optimisation, valuation, project management as well as work organisation and time management. And because HP has employees all over the world, I worked with colleagues from different nationalities in Europe and different parts of the world. Due to this I learned effective communication.

At some point, I felt it was time to gain experience in a completely different industry. I found a job at the French company Ingenico ePayments. Market forecasts convinced me that it was worth to take a chance on the new e-commerce industry. More and more companies were taking (and in fact are still taking) their business to the Internet. I still had the opportunity to develop my skills in project management as well as business process optimisation. At the same time, it was something completely new - learning about different payment methods (and there are really many of them, because apart from international ones, each country has its own methods). It is also worth noting that the e-commerce industry has only been around for about 20 years, which is why it is very demanding, similarly to its customers who sell their products around the world.

After five years in Ingenico, the time had come for a second radical change. I left the company and signed up for two semester studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam. I graduated with a diploma which entitles me to teach Dutch to foreigners. Over a year ago I founded my own language school. My specialisation is language courses for companies. I am currently working with a well-known Dutch hotel chain, a Belgian company that sells flowers around the world and one of the Dutch employment offices. I give lessons to employees of different nationalities, and, above all, to Poles. My goal is not only to teach a language, but, most importantly, to convince my students that it is easier to live in a foreign country knowing its language.

Recently, I have completed a three-day course and I am preparing myself for an exam to become a translator. Who knows what the future holds!

Founding my your own language school. This work gives me the opportunity to meet people, and, at the same time, I am my own boss and I can implement my own business projects.

Do not be afraid to take a chance on something completely new!

My biggest success

Founding my own language school. This work gives me the opportunity to meet people and, at the same time, I am my own boss and I can implement own business projects.

My advice for SGH students

Do not be afraid to take a chance on something completely new!