Reflections on the Royal Visit

They had arrived in a black motorcade, welcomed by all the elites of McMaster University and the City of Hamilton before making their way to be greeted by us – the alumni and students of the Global Health program. Her Royal Highness Princess Margeriet of the Netherlands and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven place a high value on education as is evident by the work they do. She is the honorary chair of the Global Health Advisory board since the inception of the program and he is a professor.

The royal couple was curious about us – where we came from and what spurred us to take on a subject as challenging as Global Health? How were we going to use the education we had received to tackle Global Health problems? For us, the chance to work with our Netherland colleagues during the program had taught us about the difficulties and rewards of working in a cross-cultural, global context.  It had also given us the springboard from which we could tackle the issues that greatly interest us: health policy, infectious disease outbreaks, higher education.

Finally, the royal couple asked whether we were ready to pursue and persevere after our dreams regardless of the obstacles that will inevitably come crashing towards us. It was an absolute privilege having the opportunity to meet Her Royal Highness and Professor van Vollenhoven as well as His Excellency Ambassador van der Zwan to let them know that yes, we were ready to persevere.

Sheena Guglani, Msc. Global Health Alumni, Class of 2016