Controller & Network Officer • Jeroen van Workum

About Jeroen
When I moved from Arnhem to Amsterdam to start my study International Business Administration, I was a complete stranger in the city of Amsterdam. The only thing I knew was that I liked the football club Ajax, was impressed by the atmosphere of the ZuidAs and that the locals thought my accent was funny (I had a ‘soft G’).

How things can change within three years… Or even sooner actually! During the introduction days of the VU, I knew I had to find something, an association or club which I could join to get to know this big city and its people. The concept of an association at the edge of fun and professional development intrigued me, interesting how this could be combined. In other words: Aureus was the association for me. I applied to become a committee member and ended up in the Sports Committee, gained my first organizational experience and acquired some sponsors for our winter sports trip to Bardonecchia. My second committee was also in the first year, the Accountant for a Day committee. This allowed me to get in touch with professional companies such as EY. One year after joining Aureus I already had countless fun and/or educating experiences! These experiences and the people I met during them really formed the basis for the rest of my time in Amsterdam.

The year thereafter I continued connecting with renown companies, through joining the Commercial Team. This committee allowed me to become an account manager for the association, I learned a lot about future employers. This committee was definitely a good addition to my resume, which I started building because I wanted to go on exchange to Singapore Management University. Luckily I was able to go at the beginning of my 3^rd year, I discovered lots of cultures and saw the most beautiful beaches. However, every dream ends and I had to return to the Netherlands after six months. Upon my arrival, I was really struggling with how to plan my future. All of a sudden my bachelor was almost finished and if I were to do my masters right afterwards, I would only be 21 when joining the big business world.

A board year was the perfect outcome for me to on the one hand enjoy the fun things of student life, but on the other hand, be responsible for an amazingly impactful organization with over 4500 members and 60+ events. The amount of responsibility could have never been matched during an internship, not to start about the amount of fun…

Now here I am, as the Controller & Network Officer of the 71^st board of Aureus, while not even knowing what a study association entailed a little over three years ago. The people from my hometown near Arnhem now see me as this typical ‘Amsterdam guy’, oh how things can change within three years…