The UStudy team consists of highly qualified and experienced multilingual staff that is dedicated to working closely with students and their families in making their study abroad dreams come true. We are based in the Netherlands, with offices in Canada and Malta. Our clients come from all over the world: the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, France, the UK, the US and Canada. Our staff is fluent in English, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and even in some Maltese.  

Marina Meijer – UStudy Director: 
 
Study Adviser for the USA & Canada
Athletic Adviser

Marina was born and raised in the Netherlands. She completed Law School in Groningen and, at The University of Texas in Austin obtained a masters in Public Policy and studied Middle Eastern Studies. Marina has over 17 years of professional experience in the field of international education, e.g. at EducationUSA/AMIDEAST in Washington DC and Tunisia, at education interest organizations in Washington DC and as a guidance counselor at the International School of The Hague in the Netherlands. She is a Fulbright Grant recipient for her studies in the US and has served on the selection committee for Fulbright grants both in Tunisia and the Netherlands. She studied and worked in the Netherlands, United States, Korea, Tunisia, Malta and Canada where she currently lives. Her children have experience studying in the United States, Canada and Colombia.  

Marina is a native speaker of Dutch and is fluent in English, German and has some basic French, Frisian and Arabic.

Phil Moss: 
 
Application Specialist & Editor for the UK & Ireland
Study Adviser for the UK & Ireland

Phil has worked in UK post-16 education for nearly 30 years in various admissions, guidance, and marketing roles. He began his career in 1990 at Liverpool John Moores University, working within the academic registry, and from 1999 to 2007 was Student Recruitment Manager at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), one of the leading social science institutions in the world. Phil’s work at LSE covered advice and guidance for both undergraduate and postgraduate study and he travelled all across the UK and the length and breadth of Europe supporting and encouraging students.

Since 2007, Phil has worked as a consultant advising thousands of students and their families regarding their study options in the UK and supporting them through the entire application process. As a trained proof-reader and copyeditor, he is particularly useful when it comes to preparing the application essays and while he does not write them for students, his advice is invaluable. Phil’s knowledge and experience has helped many students gain a place at their first-choice university, including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial College, Durham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Warwick, as well as specialist institutions such as Central Saint Martins in London and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He studied at the University of Central Lancashire and at the University of London. Phil lives in the United Kingdom. 

 

 

Amy McGriff:
 
Application Specialist & Editor for the USA & Canada
Translator ENG-Dutch-ENG

 

Amy McGriff, our Application Specialist, is responsible for the client’s enrollment process. With a background in Recruitment, she is extremely competent when it comes to building resumes and composing proper cover letters. She studied at Santa Rosa Junior College in California and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. She has lived in the US, the UK and currently lives in the Netherlands. 

Amy is a native English speaker and is fluent in Dutch.

 

 

Rachel Hylarides:
 
Application Specialist & Editor for the USA

 

Rachel, our Application Specialist, has worked in post-secondary education and training  since 1995. She studied Education at Portsmouth University, and taught Health and Science related subjects at Southdowns College in Hampshire, England. As well as lecturing, she was also a college mentor, guiding and helping students prepare for their future careers or continuing education. In addition, she is a qualified NVQ Assessor and Internal Verifier for government training schemes. In this role she was responsible for training and assessing students in their vocational programs, and ensuring occupational standards set by the Ministry of Education were achieved.

Since 2015 Rachel has worked as an application specialist for UStudy and has helped hundreds of students apply to schools, colleges and universities in the USA. Her role is to assist the student and their family during the entire application procedure.

Rachel is a native English speaker and she has a good command of the Dutch language.

 

Ibrahim Sharafuddin:
 
Financial Manager

 

Ibrahim is responsible for UStudy’s financial administration. He worked as a senior lecturer in Arabic for the United States Department of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Service Institute) both in the USA and Tunisia. He was selected as the only Yemenite in the 80’s by the US government for participating in the prestigious study program: Multi-Ethnicity in the USA. Ibrahim holds a degree in International Business from the University of Sana’a. He previously worked in finances at Shell International and Reebok in the Netherlands. Originally from Yemen, Ibrahim has studied and worked in various Middle Eastern countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands and now Canada. 

Ibrahim is a native speaker of Arabic, is fluent in English and Dutch and speaks some Maltese.

Joppe de Vries:
 
Field Hockey & Golf Mentor

Dutch Joppe de Vries joined the UStudy team in December 2020. His role is to assist UStudy with evaluating the player’s talent and potential for playing college field hockey in the United States.

Joppe’s background as a former elite athlete and elite coach has seen him through all levels of coaching experience, from field hockey clubs and Olympian teams, to high schools to universities, both in the Netherlands and abroad.
Joppe worked abroad for eight years as a field hockey coach. In the US, he worked as Associate Head Coach and Technical Director at the University of Maryland and Head Coach at Bryant University, both Division 1 schools. In America, Joppe assisted with the national team as a goalkeeper coach in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He also worked as a High Performance Coach and Coach Educator for USA Field Hockey. Prior to his time in the US, he coached the South African women’s team in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. In the Netherlands he coached at various clubs, including Rotterdam in the top league (hoofdklasse) and Alecto, Amsterdam, Qui Vive and HIC in the second highest league (overgangsklasse). Joppe himself enjoyed top athlete status as a member of the Dutch golf team.

He currently works as a lecturer for the Sports Management Program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, assistant coach for the woman’s first team at top club HGC in The Hague and represents UStudy Sports as a field hockey mentor.

Erik Visser:
 
 Soccer Mentor 

American Tony Dress joined the UStudy team in December 2020. His role is to assist UStudy with evaluating the player’s talent and potential for playing college baseball in the United States.

Tony’s background as a former player and coach brought him through all levels of coaching experience from high school to college and abroad:

Playing experience:
Tony grew up in Concord, California. In high school he was a three-year Varsity Baseball All-League honorable mention as a first basemen. He played one year at Los Medanos Junior College in California where he made All-League honorable mention. At Chico State University he captured the team’s Most Valuable Player award and was named Most Outstanding Hitter.  In 1992, he was selected to play on Major League Baseball International’s Envoy Team and played in Czechoslovakia for two months.  He earned his undergraduate degree in 1993.

Coaching Experience:
Tony held the position of Volunteer Assistant at St. Mary’s College of California (NCAA Division I) and spent four seasons at the helm of the San Francisco State Baseball Program (NCAA Division II).  In 2008, he coached two All-CCAA team selections. Tony came to SF State from Los Medanos Junior College in California, where he was the head baseball coach for three years. Tony also coached at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, CA, from 2001-03.  He turned a last-place program into a winning program within 18 months.  Prior to his stint in Acalanes, he served as the Assistant to the General Manager of the Wichita Wranglers, Double A-affiliate of the Kansas City royals and the National Baseball Congress.

In the early nineties Tony worked overseas as the Regional Game Development Coordinator for Major League Baseball International in Czechoslovakia, Spain, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.  He developed the first National Baseball Team in Norway and implemented credential programs and recruited sponsors for the support of the International Baseball Federation.

Andy Johnson:
 
 Baseball & Ice Hockey Mentor 

American Andy Johnson’s role is to assist UStudy with evaluating the player’s talent and potential for playing college baseball or ice hockey in the United States. Andy is originally from the U.S. but has made his home in Norway since 2003.  

Baseball: 

Andy’s background as a former college and international player and coach as well as his experience as a professional MLB scout has taken him to all levels of baseball around the globe.   

Andy is a 1995 graduate of Litchfield High School in central Minnesota where he was a varsity letter recipient in baseball and ice hockey.  He continued his baseball pursuits at Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota where he was team captain and an all-conference selection.  He then transferred to Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota where he continued to play baseball and ice hockey while graduating with a Bachelors degree in Communications and a minor in Coaching in 1999. 

Andy played and managed internationally in Sweden, Australia and Germany until 2004 when he began his international scouting career with the Minnesota Twins.  He primarily focused his efforts on Europe, particularly the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy but covered additional events in Japan, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. 

In 2004 Andy signed his first professional player in outfielder Wesley Connor of the Oosterhout Twins followed shortly thereafter by HCAW pitcher Loek Van Mil and Amsterdam Pirates pitcher Tom Stuifbergen.  In 2009 Andy was the lead scout in the Minnesota Twins acquiring current Major League standout Max Kepler. 

In 2021 Andy obtained his Master’s degree in International Higher Education from the University of Oslo where he researched the role of sports in Norwegian Higher Education. 

Ice Hockey:

Andy got his start in ice hockey on the outdoor rinks of Minnesota which is home to several division 1 college hockey programs for men and women.  He played high school hockey in Litchfield, Minnesota and later played 2 years at Division III Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota alongside of baseball.  Following his international baseball career Andy continued to play club hockey in Oslo, Norway and later in his current city of Kristiansand.  Today he is the sports and youth director for a Idda Ice Hockey Club where his two sons compete and he serves as a coach.

Personal Background:

Andy lives in Kristiansand, Norway located on the countries southern coast with his wife and two sons.  He is a volunteer youth ice hockey coach, founder of the Kristiansand Suns Baseball Club, and head coach of the Norwegian National Baseball Team.  He also serves as a board member of the European baseball Coaches Association and holds a position with the Kristiansand Sports Council advising clubs on diversity and recruitment. 

 

 

Lonnie Holders:
 
 Application Specialist & Editor for The Netherlands
Study adviser for the Netherlands

 

Lonnie is an expert in the Netherlands higher education system. She obtained a master’s degree in communications at the University of Twente and worked for 10 years in student communication at Saxion University of Applied Sciences. She knows all there is to know about the education system and application process, university programs and Dutch culture, and how to match each to our students’ wishes and demands.

Lonnie has established a large network of Dutch university admissions officers. Since 2018 she has worked as a counselor for international students who are considering studying in the Netherlands. Lonnie helps students find the right program and advises them on how to complete the application process swiftly and efficiently.

Lonnie is fluent in Dutch, English and Italian.

Mariette de Koning-Orlandini:
 
Event Coordinator

Mariette has been working for UStudy since 2018. She is the event coordinator and it is her role to inform and engage future students who wish to study abroad. She also coordinates the work of alumni as UStudy ambassadors.

Mariette experienced the value of UStudy services when her oldest daughter went to the US to study and play field hockey for the University of Virginia. She therefore has first-hand knowledge of how important our guidance is for applicants. It absolutely contributed to her daughter having a wonderful experience in the US.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at the Hotel Management School in Lausanne, Switzerland, Mariette started her career at Quest International, an international company specializing in flavors & fragrances. At Quest she was worked primarily with multinational customers.

Mariette is fluent in Dutch, English and French.