It was February 13th, 2018, when I received an email from ESN Europe, a media company in Belgium. They were working on a social media campaign for a European Parliament program designed to celebrate women in technology and inspire young girls to join the field. They had already prepared most of the program videos but felt something was missing. They decided to feature a role model in the campaign and approached me for the role.
The plan was to create a short video, followed by more information on the European Parliament program itself. We discussed filming locations, lighting, and setup via email, brainstorming ideas for the shoot. The team and I were thrilled; this was a fantastic opportunity to gain more media attention for ScienceTales, the project we were working on at the time with my startup. We prepared potential scenes and discussed which technologies would be cool to showcase.
On February 24th, the film crew arrived, having driven all the way from Belgium to film me for their campaign. At that time, we were situated in PLNT Leiden. We shot multiple scenes with VR gear, AR gear, the team in the background, empty backgrounds, motion capture suits, and more. For just a 6-8 second video, we spent a total of 4 hours filming. In the end, they opted for a simple shot that would work best on mobile screens.
After the crew left, I had no clear idea when the video would go online. I knew the campaign was for International Women’s Day on March 8th, but I wasn’t sure if that was the exact day it would be posted since the campaign was to run over several days.
On Thursday morning, I walked into my Security Studies class at Leiden University, where I was studying alongside working on my startup. It was a large lecture hall for 200 students. As I entered, a classmate at the back of the hall shouted, “Juliette! You are famous! I saw you on Snapchat!” More students checked their phones, and there it was—pinned on the discovery page for everyone to see—my face in a European Parliament campaign. It felt like a movie scene, and I was filled with excitement.
Was it cool to be featured on Snapchat? Absolutely. But if I had found out alone, opening Snapchat and seeing it there, it would have been a simple, anticlimactic “Oh, nice, it’s up.” I’ve experienced this feeling a lot—expecting something to feel special and grand, only for it to feel like just another thing that happened. The reason this moment was truly exciting was thanks to my classmate, who responded with so much enthusiasm, which makes this a memory I truly cherish. It reminded me of the importance of celebrating others’ successes, and I hope I can have the same impact when cheering for others!
Screenshots
Where my classmate spotted me
By swiping up they would end up at the program page
It was February 13th, 2018, when I received an email from ESN Europe, a media company in Belgium. They were working on a social media campaign for a European Parliament program designed to celebrate women in technology and inspire young girls to join the field. They had already prepared most of the program videos but felt something was missing. They decided to feature a role model in the campaign and approached me for the role.
The plan was to create a short video, followed by more information on the European Parliament program itself. We discussed filming locations, lighting, and setup via email, brainstorming ideas for the shoot. The team and I were thrilled; this was a fantastic opportunity to gain more media attention for ScienceTales, the project we were working on at the time with my startup. We prepared potential scenes and discussed which technologies would be cool to showcase.
On February 24th, the film crew arrived, having driven all the way from Belgium to film me for their campaign. At that time, we were situated in PLNT Leiden. We shot multiple scenes with VR gear, AR gear, the team in the background, empty backgrounds, motion capture suits, and more. For just a 6-8 second video, we spent a total of 4 hours filming. In the end, they opted for a simple shot that would work best on mobile screens.
After the crew left, I had no clear idea when the video would go online. I knew the campaign was for International Women’s Day on March 8th, but I wasn’t sure if that was the exact day it would be posted since the campaign was to run over several days.
On Thursday morning, I walked into my Security Studies class at Leiden University, where I was studying alongside working on my startup. It was a large lecture hall for 200 students. As I entered, a classmate at the back of the hall shouted, “Juliette! You are famous! I saw you on Snapchat!” More students checked their phones, and there it was—pinned on the discovery page for everyone to see—my face in a European Parliament campaign. It felt like a movie scene, and I was filled with excitement.
Was it cool to be featured on Snapchat? Absolutely. But if I had found out alone, opening Snapchat and seeing it there, it would have been a simple, anticlimactic “Oh, nice, it’s up.” I’ve experienced this feeling a lot—expecting something to feel special and grand, only for it to feel like just another thing that happened. The reason this moment was truly exciting was thanks to my classmate, who responded with so much enthusiasm, which makes this a memory I truly cherish. It reminded me of the importance of celebrating others’ successes, and I hope I can have the same impact when cheering for others!
Screenshots
Where my classmate spotted me
By swiping up they would end up at the program page
