Press
Every year throughout Europe there is an important event called "Open monuments day" on which monumental buildings open their doors for visitors from all over the world. Maastricht is the second biggest monumental city of the Netherlands and this event is therefore important to the inhabitants and visitors from all over the world. The day can be organized with a small subsidy of the city council, which in 2021 was not granted. Together with LGOG and Meet Maastricht I therefore organized a one-time protest event called "Closed Monuments day" for which we created tours throughout the city to emphasize the importance of heritage and culture, and stress the need for a subsidy to the city council so that hopefully in 2022 the monuments can open their doors again.
For the study program of Interdisciplinary Arts that I followed in Maastricht from 2019-2022, we made a video about the special way of project-based education and the importance of programs like this. In a world that is changing rapidly, it is necessary to educate people inter- and trans-disciplinary. People who can tackle complex problems because they are used to think out of the box, be entrepreneurial and look for common ground where others feel merely differences. I was more than happy to share my experiences with this type of education and why it fits me more than the traditional way of learning in most universities.
I am a sucker for plants. Biology has always been one of my main interests. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to know how the world worked and biology was the perfect way to find that out. In 2018 the Dutch newspaper Het Parool interviewed young people with a zest for nature and well, I got to talk about plants; good deal!
In 2017 I was able to vote for the first time. As a teenager I had always been interested in politics and I had also been vocal about my political preferences and I found and find it important to stand for what you believe in. When RADAR+, a Dutch magazine, wanted to interview me on my political choices, I gladly joined. Over the past few years I have also focused on other ways to stimulate change and progress other than via politics, mostly because I do not agree with the melodramatic communication that is often used in political settings. I think open communication and education is the way forward, even and especially with big topics such as climate change. If we can somehow find a way to make open communication, honesty and education the core of politics, I might get fully back into it.
In 2017 I interviewed Kim Wannet, director of an art focused high school in Amsterdam, with a zest for combining art and science. I wrote an article about her which was published on the website of the school. We shared the ideology of mixing arts and sciences, which was rare and very inspiring.
When I studied biology at the University of Utrecht (UU) in the Netherlands, I was the columnist of the biology-department magazine. I have always loved writing, and have written stories, columns and songs for as long as I can remember. To write monthly columns about my experiences of studying was a great outlet for me to deal with the stress of being a freshman at a big university after finishing high school.
It was also a great way to express my creativity. I was not like my classmates in the sense that I had a hard time studying and I had to work very hard to keep up with all the theoretical stuff. Writing was my way to excel, I was unique for my creativity.