My name is Inés Robles, I am 24 years old, I was born in Valladolid (Spain) and I have studied business at the University of Valladolid and later a master’s degree in international business at the same university, although in both studies I have focused on marketing and advertising, as this is what I like the most.
I was a high performance synchronised swimmer for several years, but I had to quit due to back injuries, and then I was a lifeguard swimmer, but I also had to quit due to injuries.
And another of my great passions is photography and art, as my family are either photographers or artists.
During university, I did a 9 months erasmus in Ireland and it was an experience that changed the way I saw things, it made me grow both personally and professionally, it also allowed me to learn English and to learn how to manage on my own in another country and out of my comfort zone.
During this experience I discovered that Valladolid was not the place where I wanted to stay after finishing my studies, so I decided that it would be a good idea to have a first contact with the working world abroad, that’s why this option seemed to be the most appropriate for me.
No one of my friends had done this, but some people from the university had told me about this programme.
I decided to come to the Netherlands because a year ago, one of my friends did her Erasmus here and I came a couple of times to see her and I thought it was a very good country. The culture, the people, the history and architecture… plus it is a country that is very committed to young people working and it is a country where it is easy for young people to access jobs, which for example in Spain without any experience and recently graduated, it is unthinkable that they are going to take you for that job.
My other options were Ireland (because I had already been there and I love it) and Germany (because I know people there and I thought it was also a very good option within Europe).
I believe that this experience can bring me many things both on a personal and professional level, improving my English skills, as well as giving me the opportunity to learn Dutch, to live and work with people from different countries and to be independent. In addition, on a professional level, I will have a first contact with the working world in a different way to the one I would have experienced staying in Spain. I hope to be able to put into practice the skills and knowledge I have acquired during my academic studies and learn many new things.
