Channon Bleker had always been interested in the security domain. However, which study programme fitted her interest? The Political Science bachelor at VU Amsterdam provided her with a broad base that enabled her to dive into both national and international issues. Eventually, Channon ended up at the Netherlands Ministery of Defence, where she currently tackles political subjects on a daily basis.
Channon’s parents both have a Defence background, but it was not immediately clear that their daughter would follow the same career path. Political science granted her the opportunity the get to know multiple perspectives before she made a definite choice about her study focus. “In the Political Science programme, students learned about broad national and international issues. The programme facilitates flexibility to write papers within your area of interest, whether this is the security domain, international relations, or national politics, and in this way, I got to figure out what appealed to me.”
Especially the small scale of the Political Science programme appealed to Channon. “The easy relationship between the students and the teachers is what interested me most about VU Amsterdam. This was already apparent during the first day of the programme. The teachers in front of the class were very open. Students got along very well and the faculty association EOS provided fun social activities outside of the study programme. This was the complete package for me and that’s why I felt most at home at VU.
Political Science
During her studies, Channon learned about multiple fundamental political science concepts from different perspectives and came in contact with different levels of governance. “I could dip my toes in both global and national politics at the same time. As a result, I realized that global politics was a bit too big and abstract for me.” Eventually, Channon chose to specialize in national politics. “National politics and policy aligned better with my interests because it was smaller and more concrete. However, I could still use the fundamental political science concepts and apply this knowledge to national cases, This perspective still helps me in my current job.”
Channon also followed a minor in Poland during her bachelor's in Political Science, “During my minor in Krakau, I chose courses about organized crime, for example, the mafia. It was incredibly interesting to see how the police work and how organized crime is handled in other European countries. In a country such as Poland, this also entails learning about political and historical contexts regarding its communist past.”
