“This is my tenth year at TU/e. During my first year I focused entirely on the Industrial Design program. High school in Sittard was not easy for me at all; I repeated the final year of pre-university education twice. I couldn’t concentrate and preferred playing guitar or gaming. But at TU/e I finally found motivation, because this was a study I chose for myself. Things went well, and in my second year I took time for a board year with student association Lucid.”

“It felt exciting, because a bar committee year requires a lot of effort. I handled purchasing, maintained external contacts, and ensured that the bar was staffed. I was afraid I’d lose momentum in my studies, but instead, I developed much more structure. I had serious deadlines, and I realized that tightly scheduling everything actually creates order. My secret is that I’m good at keeping studies and other activities separate.”

Side jobs

“In my third year I really got to know Eindhoven and the people here. My student job at brewery 100 Watt grew into a full-time job, and I started to feel truly at home in the city. I also performed in bands with study friends. At the Borrel XL (the joint drink for all study associations), we played on the main stage — I was the bassist. At the Lucid gala, I did guitar and vocals.”

“There was one period when I slowed down. That was during my internship at Studio Tast, when I quit my job at 100 Watt. Only during my graduation project, which coincided exactly with the COVID period, did I pick up side jobs again. As a student assistant I worked twelve hours a week at the Skills Lab and the Career Academy. I lived in a student house with a great social atmosphere. Since my bar committee year, fitness has been my steady hobby. By then I had become quite athletic — and I had also intentionally lost a lot of weight. I still have photos from my first year where I weighed 98 kilos. After losing thirty kilos, I started building muscle.”

Kayak

“I only started kayaking at Okawa as a master’s student. When I was an intro parent in the summer between my bachelor’s and master’s, I took my group to a kayak workshop at Okawa. I was the absolute worst of the entire group, but I also enjoyed it the most. None of the students continued kayaking — except me. I connect with the water. I have strength and I have drive, but technique and motor skills have always been my weak points. Still, I keep going, because I want to master it.”

“The SSC is my second home. I did a lot of training at strength sports association Odin, and now I’m often in the gym and the pool. That’s where I both take and give kayak training. I completed a serious instructor qualification. I was inspired to do that after working with external groups and associations that Okawa provides lessons to.”

“These external groups and associations were ones I brought in myself when I served as chair and external relations commissioner during my second master’s year at Okawa. I set a record that year for securing the most sponsorship money for the association. I enjoyed doing it, and I had developed a knack for it during my bar year at Lucid.”

Study stress

“I graduated with a design that helps students manage study stress and time-management. My supervisor pointed me to several PhD positions. Two months before my graduation ceremony I already knew I’d be doing PhD research on uncertainty in relation to self-driving cars — provided I graduated. That was a nice push to finish everything on time.”

“Between different phases of my life I like to take time to fully reset. Between my bachelor’s and master’s I spent a week alone in Dublin, and between graduating and starting my PhD I went kayaking and rafting. I joined Okawa’s summer camp, traveled with a group of friends, and finally went solo freestyle kayaking in France. Taking a break like that helps me return with a fresh outlook.”

World Rafting Championship

“Because I enjoyed kayaking so much and had competition experience, I wanted to try rafting. You have to be able to ‘read’ the water, and I can. I started recreationally, but at the request of the Tilburg-based team Forward Motion and on behalf of the NRB (Dutch Raft Federation), I began training for the World Championship in Argentina. With the mixed team we finished twentieth. Without the insight and coaching of teammates Tom Vrancken (head coach at Okawa) and Ellen van Kleij (former Okawa trainer), we would never have gotten that far. Considering how few training days we had on suitable whitewater, we can be very satisfied. Everyone on our team combines rafting with work and/or study, and for whitewater training we always have to travel abroad. That’s a major investment of time and money.”

Submitting a paper

“For me, the time in Argentina was extremely intense. I had submitted a manuscript and was waiting for four reviews. I had already told my work coach from the occupational health service about my worries regarding when those reviews might arrive. They turned out to come in during the flight to Buenos Aires. While my teammates were napping, I was behind my laptop processing the feedback.”

“During the competition — from November 2 to 9 — I also worked on the paper every day. I started typing at seven in the morning, continuing until the competitions began a few hours later. And in the afternoons, while the rest of the team cooked dinner, I kept typing. The submission deadline was on the same day as the final race and the closing party. I found the World Championship less intimidating than dealing with four reviewers. You could say that alongside the rafting world championship, I was also competing in a paper-submission championship.”