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Valued donors,
Valued guests of the thank the donor day,
 
Thank you all for being here. But most of all, thank you donors for giving us, the recipients of a scholarship, the opportunity to finally thank you in person.
I am sure that I speak for all scholarship recipients in this room, as well as the ones who were not able to join us today: You have made a great difference in our lives.
Some of us would have not been able to afford a study at such a prestigious university. Some of us even came from far places to the small Netherlands to pursue a Master of Science in Management. Thank you for bringing us together.
 
I was determined to find the best words to thank you all today. I thought: if you want to thank someone, wouldn’t it be nice to demonstrate that their efforts were worthwhile. But what is worthwhile? Why would someone donate as much money for someone else to accomplish their dreams? Like a real Nyenrodian I made a little analysis of the ROI of a scholarship to be able to measure ‘worthwhile’. Three things came to mind of how giving a scholarship to exceptional individuals creates value.
 
A scholarship adds to the campus live and the student association – Richard Nieuwenhuijsen, Chairman of the Heren Vijf of my year of study may be the best example of a talented and fully committed scholarship recipient who enhanced campus life for many future generations of students to come.
A scholarship also adds to the university – Scott Salazar, another scholarship recipient, came to Nyenrode with the vision to place the institution right in the middle of a debate around technological and social innovation. He initiated TEDx Nynerode and with its content, placed Nyenrode right on stage amongst its international peers.
A scholarship also adds to the curriculum – bringing talent enables Nynerode to continuously raise the bar every year.
 
But somehow these three drivers of returns seem to directly benefit anyone but the investor. So I asked myself, why would I help someone else to achieve their goals? Because of gratitude. Gratitude for 16 months of the Nyenrode experience and for relationships that will last a lifetime (Anyone should have that experience, right?). Gratitude for waking up every day on campus, thinking that I am right where I want to be, already looking forward to another inspirational lecture that will equip me a little further for my professional career to come. Gratitude for the great opportunities that I was able to seize since graduating in the beginning of this year.
 
Dear Mr Alexander Roepers, dear donors to the American Friends of Nyenrode Fund. Because of you I am here today. Your enabled me to write my Master thesis for the frontrunner in sustainable finance, you helped me to become an Analyst at an investment bank after my graduation. You also made it possible for me to become the project leader of a joint project of Nyenrode and Deloitte.  You will be the first I will want to thank for any opportunities that will come my way in the future.
 
Dear valued donors, thank you for helping the university, thank you contributing to the Nyenrode community. But most of all, thank you for your believe and your trust, that we (recipients) will also stand up and add something valuable to this world.