photographer: carly wollaert © | make-up artist: sharmila vooren

bit academy

a diverse workplace is an important asset, since it acknowledges the individual strengths of each employee and the potential they bring. valuing the differences of others is what ultimately brings us all together and can be the secret to a successful, thriving workplace and a fair work culture.

nadine lenten

part of the team at bit academy

about

i worked in (social media) marketing in the media & entertainment industry for a while. i then realised i find it way more interesting to help with the growth of my team and the company, and not necessarily with that of the brand. time for a change! i ended up at bit academy and i love it here. we’re a tech educator with two types of education: an online program for adults focused on reskilling and upskilling, and a fulltime secondary vocational education (mbo) for young students. i now am head of operations and part of the management team. i’m responsible for making the daily operations run smoothly and efficiently.

what qualities do you think are essential for success?

it’s easy to state qualities here, but they only matter to a certain extent. opportunity is probably the most essential. not everyone’s getting the same opportunities in life. for example; studies have consistently shown that a child’s socioeconomic status has a significant impact on their access to quality education. research also indicates that this relationship is not equal for all children, with children of color and children from immigrant families often facing greater barriers to obtaining a quality education, compared to white children from similar socio-economic backgrounds. since it all starts with education, this will highly impact what most people define as ‘success’. the simple fact of being born somewhere already influences the ability for you to be ‘successful’. i got really lucky and am very privileged; my qualities only played a minor role in my ‘success’.