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How does a Chinese Aruban end up studying Biotechnology in Wageningen? Is a question i sometimes get from people who I meet in Wageningen. I am sure that I am the only Chinese Aruban and one of the few Arubans in Wageningen right now, so how did i end up here?

Being a high school student in Aruba

In Aruba you have basically two choices after high school. One, stay in Aruba and go to the one university we have (University of Aruba) and choose out of the limited programs available. The other, study abroad, which is mostly the U.S.A. or the Netherlands. Aruba is also part of the Dutch kingdom, so we get financial aid from the Dutch government, meaning almost everyone ends up choosing the Netherlands. Once you enter exam year, people start asking  you, “which university are you going to in the Netherlands and what are you going to study?”.

When you are in Aruba, you don’t get to go to open days or tag along with a university student for a day to check out what the university is like. Instead, you get a folder with some pictures and a website. Then based on these things, you are suppose to choose what you are going to do in a strange land all by yourself with no family around. Making that decision at that time was one of the hardest things I ever did.

Being an asian child, I certainly thought about what my parents wanted me to choose. I thought about being a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant, you know, the typical ones. I then went to my mother and told her about my thoughts. She told me that she would love for me to become a doctor, but that it would not fit very well with my character. You see, I am a bit chaotic and not the most precise type. OK, so no doctor. As for the lawyer, I found out that you had to read a lot, so it got a no from me. My mom also liked accountancy, so that was still on the list.

What I was good at and liked

The next thing I looked at were courses I was taking and the ones I was good at. Most of my courses were science courses. I was really good in chemistry and math (hehe so asian), alright in biology and not so well in physics. This led me to think about doing something with chemistry and math. I really like chemistry, so that should’ve been present in my choice. Apart from that, I also wanted to become a detective or a web developer. At this point, I was feeling pretty good that I had a list, but still the choice was hard.

My big brother

My brother was already studying in the Netherlands and came for to Aruba for vacation. During that time I asked him, what he was studying and how he liked it. He told me he was studying Biotechnology at Wageningen University and it was going pretty good, he liked it and he thought it might suit me. Then I said “ok, I am going to study biotechnology!”. I didn’t know if Biotechnology was something for me at all, I never looked at the program, nor did I care. I chose something and it was sufficient. In the end my brother and I both had a great time and got our degree in Biotechnology.

How did it turn out for me?

Luckily I fell in love with biotechnology and had loads of fun during my studies (sometimes a bit too much). If I had to choose again, I would go with molecular life science instead, a program with more chemistry and physics rather than math, but biotechnology comes a close second. My brother is also currently doing a PhD, but in London. It’s on something totally different than me.He is studying a machine that measures compounds and I am studying bacteria. This really shows you are never stuck with just one thing after your studies. You can always reroute or go in a different direction, so don’t be scared to try something out. When you are doubting what you want to study, maybe ask the ones closest to you, they might have the answer. For me my brother did, and I am forever thankful. You are amazing Vince!