"Success is Achievement without Causing Others Harm" - Wittenborg Top Student

MBA student, Jahn Christian Verkooijen from Norway, has just managed to achieve the highest pass rate ever at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences by scoring an average mark of almost 90% (8.8).

Verkooijen graduated with honours and received his diploma along with fellow graduates at Wittenborg's 2019 Summer Graduation Ceremony. He did an MBA in General Management.

After working many years as a supply-chain advisor in Norway, he came to Wittenborg in his early 30s and admits adjusting to life as a student again was a challenge. For instance, he observes: "Too many students act like children and arrive late and spend far too much time doing other things while in class." His advice, therefore, to prospective students is: "Show respect to fellow classmates and tutors, and work hard in school".

He decided to study in the Netherlands because "it felt like a smart thing to do to strengthen my profile". After graduating, he now hopes for a managerial position back in Norway. "I am thinking of maybe the oil and gas industry," he said in an interview. However, he bemoans the lack of social engagement he experienced as a student. "Unfortunately, I have not experienced a lot of social engagement during my stay, so my personal life has not really improved to be honest."

How does he define success? "That question could probably be passed down in time as a big philosophical question. I am not entirely certain yet, as I am trying to figure it out myself. Success is probably a form of fulfilment and sense of achievement, while simultaneously achieving happiness without causing other people harm."

WUP 25/7/2019
by Anesca Smith
©WUAS Press