In the summer of 1973, 21-year-old Ben Laaper left home in the Netherlands for an internship in New York City. He describes this period of life as a ‘self-imposed internship,’ where he sought to completely break away from his small town, master the English language, and do something totally different. This led to a permanent move to the US, where he developed a thriving career and recently celebrated 50 years of marriage to his wife, with whom he shares four children and nine grandchildren.

Back then, the Netherland-America Foundation played a pivotal role in Ben’s life trajectory. The NAF launched a traineeship program in 1955 for Dutch students to gain work experience in the US, just as we do today with our Dutch2USA program. For nearly 20 years, over 2,000 young Dutch students participated in the program, which was even featured in The New York Times in 1960. (You can read more about the traineeship program in the NAF 90th Anniversary book, starting on page 35.)

The NAF assisted Ben in arranging the internship through coordinating with his host company, helped to secure his visa, and provided a weekly stipend of $150 for living expenses in New York City.

Ben followed in the footsteps of his older brother, John, who had come to the US in the early 1960s to intern in Connecticut, also with the help of the NAF. Ben was part of the executive buyers training program at Abraham & Straus, a now-defunct department store in Brooklyn which was eventually bought out by Macy’s. Trainees were placed in new departments every 6 weeks to understand the business, from children’s clothing to pharmacy to watches to men’s dress shirts. Ben commuted from the Upper East Side, where he split a monthly rent of $485 with two Americans, which he says ‘felt astronomical at the time.’

Today, Dutch interns can keep in touch with family and friends back in the Netherlands through FaceTime, WhatsApp, Instagram, and a whole host of apps. In the 1970s, letter writing and phone calls were the only forms of communication, where a half hour phone call could run $130 due to international charges. This was the hardest part for Ben, as he says, ‘I was cut off in every single way.’ For instance, he describes riding the subway to Times Square to find the only Dutch language newspaper sold in New York in order to find the results from a soccer match played in the Netherlands four days earlier.

Despite the challenges, Ben gained skills in resourcefulness, community building, and resilience that have served him well. On a trip upstate during his traineeship, he met his future wife, and ultimately extended his traineeship by one year. That year became a lifetime, and he has lived in the US ever since, currently residing in Charleston, South Carolina.

For Dutch students interested in interning abroad, Ben recognizes the feelings of overwhelm that may cause some folks to hesitate. For young students leaving their home country, Ben advises finding community, as he still keeps in touch with his cohort of trainees from his Abraham & Straus days.

“It can be overwhelming from the outside looking in,” Ben shares. “But once you’re here, get to know more people, and make connections at work and in social situations, your world becomes bigger. When you’re planted somewhere you really have to find your roots, and if you can do all that, there is tremendous opportunity.”

As he puts it, “My gratitude did not end after my internship- it continues to bloom.”