Week of the International Student: Camila Ramos
During the Week of the International Student, we interview international students and alumni of Erasmus University Rotterdam and ask them about their journey. Meet Camila Ramos, who majored in Human Rights, Gender and Conflict Studies with Social Justice Perspectives at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Camila is passionate about social justice. In her role as Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Lloyd’s Register, she is promoting culture change in this traditional maritime organisation.
Born in Chile, Camila now lives in The Hague, where she is planning to apply for Dutch citizenship. She is sure her MA in Development Studies at EUR has given her the skills, knowledge and confidence to help her employer become a beacon for diversity and inclusion in the world of shipping.
Camila spent her early years in the Patagonia in the south of the country, then moved with her family to the capital, Santiago. “I didn’t realise I had an unfashionable regional accent until my family moved to the city. When I started school there, I was teased about the way I spoke. I soon settled in but I felt like an outsider for a while. Ironically, when I rang friends back home, they accused me of speaking in a posh city accent.”
After enrolling in a specialist high school to prepare young people from less privileged backgrounds to apply to the most prestigious universities, she secured a place at the elite Pontificia Universidad Cátolica de Chile: “I found myself studying Social Work alongside high-class students. They talked about their holidays in Europe and the US, while I had never been outside my country and didn’t know what to say. But I told myself, I have earned the right to be here too.”
Transform a stone into a diamond
After enrolling in a specialist high school to prepare young people from less privileged backgrounds to apply to the most prestigious universities, she secured a place at the elite Pontificia Universidad Cátolica de Chile: “I found myself studying Social Work alongside high-class students. They talked about their holidays in Europe and the US, while I had never been outside my country and didn’t know what to say. But I told myself, I have earned the right to be here too.”
Camila’s first job after graduating involved advising Human Resources managers from 130 private sector companies on topics related to the Future of Work including diversity and inclusion.
“At first I doubted whether I could do it, at the age of 23, but my boss had confidence in me and even said he had chosen me because I could transform a stone into a diamond. Although my career flourished and I knew we were making progress at senior level, the representation target in leadership position weren’t moving as fast as they should with the increased level of awareness. Diversity and inclusion were regarded as optional rather than essential and we weren’t achieving real change. That’s when I decided to go back to university and study abroad.”
An obvious destination
The Netherlands was an obvious destination as Camila had met the Dutch Ambassador to Chile who always spoke warmly about his country and suggested she should explore the opportunities for scholarships. When she discovered she could major in Human Rights, Gender and Conflict Studies with Social Justice Perspectives at EUR, her decision was made.
Moving across the world was a real culture shock, from the basics like opening a bank account and finding somewhere to live, to making new friends and getting to grips with learning in a new language.
“The good thing was we were all in the same place, we were all equally lost and we had only one Dutch classmate to help us out. Most of us didn’t have English as a first language. But people were so generous, four students offered me a room in their house until I could get my own place. We bonded quickly and had a lot of trust in each other.
“Our studies were wide-ranging covering everything from degrowth theories to body politics. Most of us already had experience in the workplace with stories to share and those conversations at the coffee machine were invaluable. We came to realise the world is huge, but the challenges are similar.”
The right thing to do
Now at Lloyd’s Register, an organisation founded in London in 1760, Camila is using the insights gained at EUR in her role to make changes: “Diversity and inclusion is all about fairness, it’s the ethical way to conduct business in the 21st century. I believe the commonly held theory that inclusivity automatically increases profits is unhelpful. Diversity and inclusion isn’t guaranteed to benefit the bottom line. It might have that result but you should do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Photos
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