Testimonials

Students Across Diverse Programs Share Their Experiences

2022-2023 S1

Nimo Driessen

Engineering  

“I was very glad with the seriousness of the workplace but also with the community feeling. At the start, I was unsure and didn’t know anyone so I took my seat and started doing my work. But I noticed that the place is very well insinuated against noise pollution. That is what I enjoy and expect of a good workspace.”

“Before, I was inexperienced in approaching people or asking for help from others. During the minor, I learned to work with others, learn from each other, ask for feedback, etc. I worried that I would screw up during a project, but during the minor, I worked off those worries. I also needed to step up and get out of my comfort zone and take the initiative and contact people, because otherwise, the project would not keep on going.”

Mandy Verswijveren

Tourism Management

“I enjoyed the social committee activities that were being organized for all the students at the Garage. That also helped with making connections with the other students. My highlight was the City Marketing Vlissingen project. Just because you see that clients really appreciate what you do”.  

 Aiden Gibbons

Civil Engineering

“I enjoyed The Garage because my strength probably is or was somebody else’s weakness and vice versa. If you know your group members and you use their skills, it definitely helps to work in a group. I also used to work with only other technical students, now I work with students from economic studies which was interesting.”

“I learned that you cannot always choose your partners and you have to find a way to deal with any issues properly within the team, as you would in the real world.” Kevin Kommer

International Business

‘The flexibility and the support from the coaches was great. One of the highlights is that you work with people from different study backgrounds. That makes it interesting, to learn different perspectives but also provide some perspectives of my field of study. My highlight was that I could put my study background into the projects and help the clients.’

“It’s interesting to see the different perspectives and ways of thinking. In the beginning, it can be an issue because some views can be different but that is also interesting. It also prepares for future work environments.”

Ronald Evers

Tourism Management

I was used to working alone and now I learned how to better function in a group. To be able to respond to problems quickly and talk about them more openly with others. I like to talk about things that are going well and it was harder to talk about things that I found difficult and were not going well. In a group, it is important to talk and listen to others so that you can help each other.”

Katicia Frei

International Business

“I made friends, met clients, and broadened my network. You have a lot of freedom to decide what you want to do, you are your own boss. Of course, you still work with instructions from the Garage but still, it wasn’t something that you are doing because you have to do it, it felt like it was more for ourselves”.

“At the beginning, you could choose three projects that would suit you the best from a list of projects. They matched us with interesting projects and made the groups for those projects which was good. Even if a project did not seem interesting at first, later on, it turned out that it involves a lot of other interesting aspects”

Sterre Wattel

Tourism Management

“Communicating with stakeholders, for example, is something that really comes back in the professional career that I want to do. So that is something that is useful for the future. Other things were collaborating and taking the initiative. For example, in the Green Beach project, at one point there was not a lot of progress. I recognized it and decided to take the initiative so we could continue because it doesn’t happen on it’s own”.