Chiara Kaiel

Chiara is half American: her father is American with Lebanese roots, which also explains her last name. She grew up in The Hague but has now been living in Amsterdam for two years, in Oud-West with a roommate, conveniently close to Vondelpark and plenty of great little restaurants.

Chiara is studying Law at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and is heading into her second year. Before that, she studied Political Science, where she met former Viisionair Iwan, but found that the program pushed her a bit too much in one direction. Law appeals to her precisely because it’s so broad: you get exposure to all the different legal fields and work through case law with cases that connect directly to real-world practice. Whether she wants to go into law practice or, for example, work as a legal expert at a company, she’s happy to keep her options open — she finds several legal fields interesting. She gained work experience in hospitality, including at an Asian grocery store and a sushi restaurant. Her longest stint was at Sushimeisjes in The Hague. Through Iwan, who spoke enthusiastically about the great colleagues and the annual ski trip, she ended up at Viisi, where she started working as a working student.

Outside of studying and working, Chiara enjoys walking, cooking, and is trying to make more time to read — she’s still got plenty of good books waiting. Fun fact: since her family on her father’s side lives in America (her aunt and cousin are in New York), she did a six-month exchange in her sophomore year of high school and spent a semester attending high school in Brooklyn, New York. Her younger brother has since gone on a year-long exchange to Argentina through the same organization.