Katrien Van den broeck

Fed up with mathematics after high school and wanting to become a journalist, I gave up exact science for history at the age of 17. At University, I was thought to scrutinise every single piece of information and never take a fact for a fact. I got to taste the Italian way of life during my Erasmus experience in Perugia. In my final thesis, I made a hypercritical assessment of the "sexual revolution" in Belgium, basically undermining the theory that there was one. My thesis has since then often been quoted as main reference in gender studies and cultural history. After my Master, I specialised in American history and followed a course on Research Journalism to improve my research skills.

My first work experience in the media was an anti- climax. The threat of the upcoming digital media was obvious in the printed media. The need for newspapers to remain competitive made quality less important than quantity.

When asked to join the office of a Member of the European Parliament, I was hesitant to "change sides", but I haven't regret the decision a single day. Since 2007, I have enjoyed working in the European Parliament, which is an exciting, international, but also highly schizophrenic environment. On the one side, the EP is full of ambition young people, creative thinking, on the other side, there is the bureaucracy, the status quo and a lot of cynics. The last 4 years I have been working for Former Prime Minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, have been to say the least overwhelming. The working night and day 7 days a week- rhythm might seem crazy for any outsider but definitely worth it, taking into consideration the lessons I have learned.