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“I’m someone with an insatiable appetite for life”

Timothé Rigaudeau, IE University student, has found in IE University a place where he can unleash his ideas and express his overflowing creativity.

Timothé Rigaudeau looks like a character from an Alexandre Dumas novel. He has an athletic build. He’s tall and lean, and sports a very French, thin, aristocratic mustache, which marries perfectly with his impeccable manners. After a few minutes of interesting conversation, the young French 19-year-old stops talking, pauses, smiles, and says to me with total ease, “Who am I? I’m someone with an insatiable appetite for life. That’s me.

Only he could have described himself so accurately. That’s Timothé Rigaudeau in a nutshell. He’s someone with an insatiable appetite for life who has found in IE University a place where he can unleash his ideas and express his overflowing creativity. Studying a dual degree in Business Administration and International Relations, he describes himself as “a person who’s half artistic, very entrepreneurial, passionate about sports, analytical, modest, and always smiling.”

He loves theater and also writes poetry, plays piano, takes singing classes, and, from time to time, enjoys painting. He plays competitive football and has also tried his hand at boxing, skiing, paddle tennis, golf, and tennis. He doesn’t know when to stop. “I really enjoy competing and constantly learning. I always want more, I’m never satisfied,” he admits.

Photo by: Roberto Arribas 

Passion for sports

Timothé Rigaudeau was born in Italy and moved to the United States when he was just four years old on account of his father’s career as a professional basketball player. After his time in the USA, the Rigaudeau family moved to Valencia, where Timothé studied at the Lycée Francais. It’s clear that athletic ability runs in his blood.  “My mother also played basketball, then she became a physiotherapist and a pilates teacher.” Coming from this background, it seemed likely that Timothé would become an athlete, but his passion wasn’t basketball; it was soccer.

In the capital of Turia, he trained at the Valencia CF football academy, and now in Segovia, he trains with Youth Team A of Gimnástica Segoviana.  People who have seen him play say that he’s a great forward, skillful, fast, and able to anticipate the game.

Timothé also believes that his two years of boxing training were a great learning experience. “It’s an excellent way to grow as a person, not just physically, but also psychologically. Boxing teaches you a lot: to stay humble and to persevere, among other things,” he says.

For this young Frenchman, sports are an important part of his life. “I like to compete, improve, and win, and that’s what I get from playing sports,” he claims.

Theater

But Timothé isn’t content with the benefits he gets from sports. He has a very strong artistic streak. Just a few days ago, the Main Hall of IE University was the stage for “Memories of the Rose and the Lion,” a play written and performed by the students themselves.

Timothé Rigaudeau and Peruvian-German student Salvador Braedt produced and directed the performance, which involved thirty students of almost twenty different nationalities.

As the founder of IE University’s Theatre Club, he admitted that he was extremely satisfied with all the effort that the students had put in throughout the year and with the final performance.  “It was a success. The people who came to see us, all two hundred and sixty of them, were impressed with our work.  Working with a group of more than thirty people wasn’t easy, but we did it,” Timothé says proudly. He goes on to tell me that he’s already started thinking about next year’s play, which will also be written by him and other IE University students.

Timothé’s creativity also extends to other literary genres, most notably, poetry. He’s written a number of poems, the majority of them in French, although he also uses English from time to time, a language which, along with Spanish, he speaks fluently.

Timothé’s feels very much at home at the IE University campus. “The university gives each student the chance to start their own projects. I’ve come across people who, irrespective of their culture, have a very interesting view of life and human existence, and who are sensitive to the issues which affect us all.”

This is a student who looks beyond material goals. He claims that his sole objective is to be happy, and that the best way of achieving this is through helping others. “I always want to do things that are useful to people, that’s what I find most satisfying,” says Timothé, who feels extremely lucky to be living in this country. “I’m all too aware of the fact that there are so many people less fortunate than myself, who haven’t had the chance to learn and study at university. That’s where my desire to do things for others comes from.”

Among the many projects in which he plays an organizational role, Timothé highlights the Green Club, a group of IE Univeristy students who work together to promote environmental protection and organized “Green Week.” This event comprised an extensive program of activities, including round table discussions, conferences, and documentary screenings.

The most recent activity Timothé was involved in was a charity run for ADISIL, the San Ildefonso Association for the Disabled. This took place last Saturday at the Alameda del Parral, and was organized by IE University student Lou Ladoire, the Rotary Club, and Timothé himself. He believes it’s important to continue strengthening ties between students and locals by undertaking projects such as this charity run, in which the local community were able to benefit from student initiatives.

There are lots of changes to be made in the world, that’s why I want to keep learning. I want to make a positive contribution to improving the society of today,” Timothé stresses. “I know exactly what I want to do, but I’m still not sure how I’ll do it,” he adds.  A lover of history and philosophy, he states that he doesn’t want to work under a boss; he wants to create his own company. In this sense, he claims, “I am a demanding person, I like things done well, and I don’t see myself working under a boss who’s not going to teach me anything. Perhaps I’m too honest and too much of a perfectionist, since I believe that in this world, perfection does exist.”

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Roberto Arribas has a degree in journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid and has been a part of the communications department at IE University as a coordinator at the Santa Cruz la Real campus in Segovia since 2006.  He complements his work at the university with a role as a columnist at the local newspaper, El Día de Segovia. A big part of Roberto’s role as a communicator at IE University is photography, which is something he is very passionate about.  His passion led to the publication of his photobook Segovia On The Move in 2020. In it, he portrays the Castilian city far differently from the classic postcard image, and reflects upon current issues through his journalistic lens.  His work in Segovia has also led to some of his photos being published in various national and international media outlets. He also regularly photographs the Hay Festival Segovia, an annual festival that has been awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.

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