Future Game Changers | Sem Ragas

Sem Ragas

My name is Sem Ragas, I am 24 years old, part of the Hotel Management track and currently in my 4th year at the Hotel Management School Maastricht. My hometowns are Amsterdam and Bloemendaal, a tiny village by the sea.

Sem's Experience

My initial ambitions, after returning from YPO in Cape Town were to pursue a career in Real Estate in the US. Though, soon after my return, I was approached with the question whether I would consider the Gulf. During the past 24 years, I’ve had many opportunities to travel but, never had I visited the ‘Middle East’. Never in my life had I thought to move to the city of Dubai as I never liked its portrayed image. Fortunately, my experience has really blown me away. The company I work for is called Morgan’s International Realty, and what a company it is! Young, ambitious, flexible, and built on integrity.

The rush and adrenaline that I experience while working in the UAE, during its rapid ascend to the top is truly phenomenal. What this nation and city are performing is like New York at the end of the 19th century, London during the industrial revolution and Amsterdam through the Golden age. Having been offered this internship at this stage in my life has been a true stroke of luck! Every day, I go to the office with a smile on my face and when I get in my car at the end of the day, I feel even more energized.

Looking at skills and insights needed to be successful in this line of work, skills that are required for being effective in traditional hospitality are actually very similar to the tools needed to be successful in real estate. Making people feel welcome, comfortable, and acting with relentless speed and precision when the pressure is on. These are capabilities that are required every day and which I’ve learned and developed during my time at the HMSM.

Sem's Wings

"Wings" for me truly means having a liberated spirit. A spirit and attitude which, allows you to discover and explore everything with an open mind. My ambitions for the upcoming years are to find out step by step who I am as a person, and which other aspects of life make my heart beat faster.

Pursuing a master’s degree in International Affairs or Governance and Diplomacy in either Paris or Rome will likely be my next step, after my time here in the UAE is complete though, it certainly isn’t over yet. My first priority now, is to expand my network here in the gulf and become an expert of my craft and industry. My next plans consist of an international career in real estate, wealth advisory or international relations which naturally fit my talents and ambitions, now I simply must take the appropriate steps to develop into these roles and positions.

Throughout my years at the HMSM I have gained so many incredible experiences, shaping me as a person and professional. From an internship in the USA, voluntary work
in SA, travelling across Central and South America for RTL, creating content for the school platform, pitching ideas and plans to investors, and writing complete consultancy proposals, and then I am not even mentioning all the interpersonal skills and relations you develop as a student of our school.

If there is one person, who has always supported me and encouraged me to fly, it has got to be my father. For me, my dad is an example of an open minded and worldly individual, an exemplary way of living, if you ask me.

As mentioned before, within the next decade there is a lot of work to be done, like conquering the Dubai real estate market, discovering Parisian life, starting my own wealth advisory firm or working on international conflict, and maybe even finding a girlfriend one day, who knows. As has been mentioned many times in the past, hospitality is a mindset. I hope to contribute to this world and society by always remaining such an individual.
Open, curious and helping others wherever I can.

Sem's Tips

If you are anxious to spread your wings, keep in mind that when things feel uncomfortable, you’re on the right track! As my family always says and some shoemaker in Oregon: ‘Just do it’.