Since graduating from her master’s at VU Amsterdam and going through countless applications, rejections and hard work, Tania has found her feet as a policy officer working for the EU’s diplomatic service. It sounds very glamorous – is it? “I work at the European External Action Service where I deal with the strategic aspects of the EU’s common foreign, security and defence policies,” she explains. “Every day brings new topics, new fires to put out, new people and new challenges. I can go from approving policy papers in the early morning to a diplomatic exchange with a partner (non-EU) country an hour later, followed by negotiations with 27 EU member states around the table, and coming back to an overflowing inbox later on. It sure is intense but it couldn’t be more intellectually rewarding. It's really seeing how the metaphorical EU foreign policy sausage is made. For me, it’s an enormous honour. It’s about feeling that you’re part of something big, something that has a direct impact on so many people’s lives. And that you, too, can make your own mark in this huge endeavour. It’s my motivation every single day. Plus I’m always learning something new, which is a great privilege. I absolutely love it.”
Intense, challenging and fun
While her current role may be intense, that seems to be a theme for Tania. “In three words, the Political Science master’s at VU Amsterdam was intense, challenging and fun,” she says. “Studying there really pushed me to refine and practice my critical thinking skills. In hindsight, I also loved the freedom we were given to explore our own topics of interest and experiment with them through research. There’s no other way of finding out what’s your jam.” Tania quickly discovered where her area of interest lay: “Studying at VU Amsterdam helped me confirm that I’m really into international security. Ironically, since this is now my field of expertise, my international security class ended up being the most challenging during my master’s.
From VU to EU – but how?
Since graduating, I’ve had to give 200% in everything I do to even have a shot at working in this field. Perseverance, super hard work, humbleness and having fun with it were the key ingredients. I vividly remember the ‘end of master’s depression’ when I’d sent over 180 (yes, that’s correct) internship applications with no answers coming back. Until one did. A single one. But it made the all difference – it brought me over the line. So the conclusion is: keep pushing and don’t let the endless ‘No’ bring you down. A ‘Yes’ will come eventually.”
Making the difference
As someone who dealt with her fair share of perseverance and no economic support, Tania was used to going the extra mile – doing more than was required of her. What advice does she have for students in the same position she was in? “Volunteer, publish that student essay, engage in early journalism, approach people who inspire you, connect with thinktanks and read loads! When it comes to networking, my advice is to be authentic and humble. It’s not about the size of your network but how meaningful your connections actually are. Those will make the difference.”
