In January of this year, Nour Rigo felt “sheer panic”. What was she going to do after graduating? Take a gap year to work for a while and then travel? Try to secure a journalism internship? Or enrol in a master’s programme after all? Some application deadlines were fast approaching. “I just kept thinking: if I choose something now, I’ll be stuck with it for the rest of my life. I know that isn’t necessarily true – the future can still be wide open – but I just couldn’t see it that way at the time.” Friends advised her to “just apply now and decide later”. Her father said, “Choose a programme now. It’s better than putting it off. If it turns out to be the wrong decision after a few months, all is not lost – you’ll still have learnt something.” Rigo herself was more interested in the idea of taking a break from studying. “I’ve been in school for as long as I can remember. I’m quite tired of it. I like the idea of doing something else for a bit.”
Now, at the end of March, she feels less stressed – but not because she’s finally made up her mind. “I simply don’t have time to panic. I’ve got my thesis to work on, a course to complete, and master’s programmes to apply for. I’ll make my final choice in May.”
Paris
One option is already off the table: the two-year master’s programme in international relations and journalism in Paris that she was so excited about back in November. “The application deadline passed in mid-February, and relevant work experience was one of the requirements.” She didn’t meet that requirement, partly because of a study trip to Indonesia. Last November, she spent a month in the Catholic village of Sanenu with fellow students from Maastricht and the University of Kupang in West Timor, doing research on issues such as education, water scarcity and women’s rights there. “It’s a small community where some children have to walk an hour and a half to school. They often drop out at fourteen. There’s water scarcity and limited access to electricity.”
Doubt
It was a wonderful experience, she says – one that has only made her more determined to travel and explore other countries. And once again, she finds herself in doubt. “I came across an interesting master’s programme in Lyon on social entrepreneurship.” But: “It’d also be nice to do a journalism internship in France or Italy. I speak both languages at B2 level [Rigo is a quarter Italian], so it’d be a great opportunity to improve and see what it’s like to live there.”
Back in January, she was struggling to decide on a thesis topic. “I wanted something challenging and original, but still manageable in ten thousand words. My first proposal, ‘the evolution of the EU’s power’, was much too broad.” Her second proposal, “EU migration policy: the gap between theory and practice”, was approved by her two supervisors after some refining. She’s currently on track: having nearly completed her methodology chapter, she’s confident she will meet the 1 June deadline. After that, only one hurdle remains.