Soon he will start his bachelor's degree in Business Engineering. Why did he decide to study on the other side of the world? "I was ready for something new. I happen to know some people who studied in Maastricht and I heard good stories from them. Besides, Europe is not foreign to me: because of my father's work I already lived in Italy for eight years when I was young."
He is visiting the INKOM today with prospective master's student Quirin Novotny from Liechtenstein. "A mutual acquaintance knew that we were both going to Maastricht and brought us into contact with each other. Since I didn't know anyone else here, we started looking for a room together." In the end, they did not find a joint home, yet they are now neighbours. "Pure coincidence. We found the rooms separately."
Hellawell has also found a side job in the meantime: kitchen help in an Italian restaurant. So cooking for himself in his student house should work out fine, right? Laughs: "I'm not so sure about that yet. I only help the cook with the preparations."