Nova SBE student in royal meeting
Society | 27 October 2017 Nova SBE student in royal meeting

Nova School of Business and Economics was one of the schools represented at the royal meeting His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. That’s because Suzan van Gastel, Nova SBE and Maastricht double-degree student, was one of the 25 students to meet the King and Queen of the Netherlands during their state visit to Lisbon.

On the morning of October 10th, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima personally met 25 students from all around the world at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, where they sat and briefly talked about security in Europe and the danger of terrorism. This group of students had the opportunity of meeting with the Ambassador, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the King and Queen of the Netherlands. When meeting them, the students talked about some of the current issues of security nowadays and stated that the real danger in today’s society is the fear that terrorism creates. The King was very interested in what the students had to say about these matters and “gave well thought-out responses”, stated Suzan who was there to share her insight and thoughts on the matter.

As a 22-year-old Dutch student, Suzan was one of the people to be graced with this unique opportunity. She proudly represented Maastricht and Nova SBE in what she recalls as a friendly meeting, where the King considered what everyone had to say. As a double degree student participating in the financial economics double degree between Maastricht University and Nova SBE, she is currently writing her master thesis about time-varying tail risk in the banking sector, while also doing an internship at Rumbold & York investment partners. So far, she loves Lisbon, the lovely weather, the nice people and its international community. She is also appreciating her experience at Nova SBE, because “Nova SBE’s teaching methods include projects that are based on something that you could experience on the work floor later in life.”

This double degree between these two schools has allowed her to grow and achieve things she never thought possible. One of those things was, undoubtedly, being one of the few students elected to meet the royals during their state visit in Lisbon. Suzan was also interviewed by NOS, a Dutch public broadcaster, where she added that the king was “very friendly and interested in what we had to say”. 

Suzan, however, was not the only student that got the chance to be at this royal meeting. Jonathan Keyson, a Nova SBE CEMS student, was also another Nova SBE student who was granted the opportunity to be there. Check the gallery below to get a glimpse of the meeting.

Congratulations, Susan! And congratulations, Jonathan!

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