The UStudy team consists of a highly qualified and experienced multilingual staff which is dedicated to working closely with students and their families in making their US study dreams come true. We are based in The Netherlands and serve clients from all over Europe including Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. Our staff is fluent in English, Dutch, German and French, as well as Arabic, Malay and Iban.
When you contact us, you’re likely to meet one or more of the following team members:
UStudy Founder and Study Advisor – Marina Meijer
In her role as study advisor, Marina Meijer ensures that the client receives speedy and expert advice. A native of The Netherlands, she provides personalized guidance and assures that each client finds a suitable study program in the United States. Born in Amsterdam (1966) to parents with international origins, Marina grew up in an international environment and has made a career out of encouraging international connections. After studying law in The Netherlands, she went to the US, where she earned Master’s degrees in Public Administration and completed graduate courses in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas in Austin, a leading public university. Moreover, Marina received several prestigious scholarships from the university as well as from the Dutch and US governments. Before her internship, Marina worked in Korea for several months. She became active on behalf of several US education programs and lobbied on Capitol Hill for an American interest organization for the internationalization of American education. She also worked as a study advisor for the US government at EducationUSA in Tunisia and managed their study scholarship programs for talented students in North Africa.
Marina is also a partner in the following organizations:
1. GUTS (Go USA Talent in Sports) is a Dutch consultancy service that launched in 2015 in Amsterdam. The organization focuses on serving athletes who play at national and international levels who would like to take their sporting profile to next level via a college education pathway in the US. GUTS offers expert sports advice and guidance with helping to choose the optimal varsity team in the US for each individual, and follows through with assisting individuals in developing a professional sports career or a business career in the sport.
2. USActive is a Dutch organization that launched in 2013 and is based in Arnhem. USActive focuses on the internationalization of education and the development of exchange and ‘semester abroad’ programs for educational institutions in the Netherlands and the US.
3. Marina was recently appointed as the ‘Guidance Counselor for the US’ at the International School of The Hague where she will provide regular consultation services from her office at the ISH for interested students and their parents.
Marina’s comprehensive professional profile is available on LinkedIn and she is also on Facebook.
She is a member of the Overseas Association of College Admission Counselors (OACAC), the European Association of International Educators (EAIE), the Netherlands Fulbright Alumni Association NFAA), Beter Onderwijs Nederland (BON) http://www.beteronderwijsnederland.nl and the Nederlandse Vereniging van Schooldecanen en Leerlingbegeleiders (NVS-NVL).
UStudy Marketing Specialist and Event Coordinator – Juni Margrie
Juni Margrie is an Australian citizen. She is engaged in marketing activities on behalf of UStudy, co-ordinates our events including our annual Go USA Education Fair, and is also our Webmaster. Juni completed a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in 1999 and was a Lecturer and Tutor in the School of Engineering for 8 years. Juni lived in the Netherlands for over six years and has recently moved to Savannah, Georgia USA to launch UStudy’s American branch.
UStudy Editor in Chief and Text Translator – Amy McGriff
Amy McGriff has been living and working in The Netherlands for almost 20 years and honed her impressive resume crafting skills while working at Undutchables, a recruitment agency for internationals. Amy is also a keen writer and participates in creative writing workshops. She studied at Santa Rosa Junior College in California and at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She speaks English and Dutch and has lived in the US, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
UStudy Editor – Rachel Hylarides
Rachel Hylarides is a British citizen and moved to the Netherlands with her Dutch husband in 2008. She is a qualified teacher and lectured in Health and Science at Southdowns College, Hampshire in England. Rachel was also a tutor and career advisor to students, helping students with various aspects of college life and helping them to prepare for their future studies and employment. She has a good understanding of Dutch language, both written and spoken.
UStudy Ambassador Coordinator, and Assistant for Marketing & Events – Rachelle Visser
Rachelle is UStudy’s Ambassador Coordinator, and Assistant Marketing and Events planner. Rachelle started swimming at the age of 5, something that has played an important role in her life ever since. Throughout her swimming career she has been the Dutch champion several times and in multiple disciplines. In 2009 she participated in the European Youth Olympic Festival in Finland. In 2013 when Rachelle completed high school she started a new challenge and headed to America.
UStudy helped Rachelle realize her dream, in which she studied international business at Santa Barbara City College from 2013 to 2015. One of the reasons Rachelle wanted to go to the US was for her swimming career. In May 2015, Rachelle was awarded the CCCAA Champion for the 200m medley and the 400m medley. She set a new record for the 400m medley race. She was also awarded recognition for “Performance of the Meet” at these same championships. A prestigious title given to the athlete who demonstrated the best performance of the entire competition.
Once she returned to the Netherlands, Rachelle decided she wanted to help give other people the same chance that she had to enjoy an incredible experience. That is why she is now involved in organizing the Go USA Education Fair every year. At the moment she is the coordinator for all of UStudy’s Ambassadors, which means she works with UStudy’s group of passionate ambassadors to coordinate presentations at various schools, companies, or private groups, whenever requested. She and her fellow ambassadors do their best to share the wonderful opportunities they’ve personally experienced from studying in the US, to provide an outline of the steps involved in achieving their goal, and to answer questions from students, peer-to-peer. Rachelle also provides support with UStudy marketing and event management.
UStudy’s Social Media Liaison – Nienke van Staveren
Nienke van Staveren is UStudy’s Social Media Liaison. Nienke travelled to America after completing high school in the Netherlands, and she completed 2 years of study at Shorter University in Georgia with an academic and tennis scholarship. She continued her studies at Amsterdam University College, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2014 in the areas of communication, film and neuroscience. Upon completing her bachelor degree, Nienke completed a pre-Masters in pharmacy and immunology. She then spent 2 months traveling around Indonesia before starting her Masters in Drug Innovation at the University of Utrecht. At the moment Nienke resides in Singapore, where she is doing graduate research at the National University of Singapore.
UStudy Financial Manager – Ibrahim Sharafuddin
Ibrahim Sharafuddin is responsible for UStudy’s billing and financial administration. He has been working for more than 20 years in the Netherlands. Originally from Yemen, he has lived in several Middle Eastern countries, the United Kingdom and Washington DC before settling in the Netherlands. He studied International Business at the University of Sana’a. He worked for years as a high level professor of Arabic for the US Department of State and was the only Yemini citizen selected by the US government for the prestigious Multi-Ethnicity in the U.S.A. Study Program. Ibrahim gained his expertise and experience in financial accounting management at Shell International and Reebok in the Netherlands. He is fluent in Arabic, English and Dutch.
UStudy SAT and TOEFL Preparation Instructor, Editor – Robin Schuessler
Robin Schuessler works at UStudy primarily preparing students for the SAT and TOEFL tests—in both group and private settings. She also edits resumes, letters and personal essays for UStudy. An American herself, Robin previously worked as a SAT Preparation Instructor at Kaplan in Miami, Florida. She earned her Bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish (summa cum laude) from the State University of New York and is a qualified English and Spanish instructor. In addition to her work with UStudy, Robin teaches English at the Hogeschool Rotterdam. Before moving to The Netherlands, she worked and studied in various states in the US and in Puerto Rico.
UStudy Text Specialist and Text Translator – Heather Doyle
Heather Doyle works as UStudy’s Text Specialist. In that role, Heather works as text writer, editor, and translator. She works with students as they write personal application essays and personal statements, formats American-style resumes, and translates. Heather holds Bachelor’s degrees in magazine journalism and political science (magna cum laude, and with high honors) from Syracuse University in New York. Heather is a published columnist, and blogs regularly for family and friends in the United States. A US native, Heather lived in France and studied in Spain before living in The Netherlands for a number of years. Recently she has moved to Boston, Massachusetts USA where she will continue her role.
