Bram Schellekens
Summer course helper from 2002 to 2006.
It is very cheesy, but I cannot start describing what Brillantmont means to me.
The excitement of going to school every morning is not one many children these days feel or will ever feel, but at BM there was no place I would rather be. Even being a day student I never felt excluded from the warmth and life of BM. Always welcomed with open arms I spent much of my time on campus.
Brillantmont creates a world in which we learn, play, explore and develop in international harmony and unknowingly determine our visions and learn to accept different cultures. I am ever so grateful as to, without realising whilst I was there, how it has influenced my life and provided me with opportunities to create a very bright future.
It was with a lot of emotion I said “bye” to BM to leave for University in the UK, but it was time to turn the page. I followed my dream to be involved in the world of international sports and studied Sports and Leisure Management at the University of Brighton. After three amazing years in the UK I was keen to move back to Switzerland to find my parents and try to put my foot in the door in one of the many sporting organisations that the Lausanne area hosts.
It was not long before I was offered short-term contracts with the Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, in Nyon. But given the modern day work situation I found myself without any stability. However Brillantmont allowed me to have some kind of stability by allowing me to work duty nights in the boarding department. After having spent almost a year at UEFA, an opportunity arose in the Olympic Games Department at the IOC, in Lausanne.
I was offered the position and I now find myself where I wanted to be when I decided to study Sport and Leisure Management. (Well I am an intern at the moment, so perhaps not quite there yet, but at least it is in the organisation where I want to be).
I don't think I am ever able to give back what Brillantmont has given me, but by accepting to work during the Summer School and in the boarding school during the school year, I have tried to create the same warm feelings that I had as a student. Seeing the school from the other side, has allowed me to realise that the BM family does not just include the students, but it is much wider than that. The fact that there is a great connection and atmosphere between the teaching staff, administrative staff and direction just shows what a wonderful place it is. This transcends down to the students.
I guess it is fair to say that Brillantmont has had a major influence on me and not just professionally but mainly personally as it helped me become the person I am as it has given me the most precious thing of all, friendship. Friends from all over the world with whom I am regularly in touch and who are engraved deeply in my memories and my heart. After all you cannot spell Bram without BM.
Bram Schellekens
Intern
Olympic Games Department
International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne, Switzerland
