Extra Muros » The Board

The Board

The board of Extra Muros Study Association Liberal Arts and Sciences is comprised of 4 members with at least 1 Non-Dutch member. It acts as the coordinating body for all Committees within the organization and carries ultimate responsibility for the actions of the association. The board may be thought of as a well integrated team with equal responsibility and rights but with a division of tasks very much dependent on the dynamics of the team in the given year. All team members are highly dedicated individuals, who complement each others weaknesses with strengths of their own. This together creates the energy and focus needed to drive this young organization to new heights in the future and bring together all Liberal Arts and Sciences students at Tilburg University into one community.

Dear fellow students,

My name is Lars Dorren, born in the scenic village of Cuijk and raised in towns and villages in Friesland, Drenthe and Gelderland that carry exotic names such as Boyl, Havelte and Culemborg. The subjects I followed at secondary school were quite diverse, and last year I decided to continue that line by applying for the Liberal Arts and Sciences program.

Since a few months after I started the program, I am enjoying citizenship of the city of Tilburg, where I am active in the students theatre association. Besides that, I enjoy writing and playing in my band.

This all being very nice, what might be the more interesting part for you to know is that yours truly has been put forward by the board as candidate president. Right from the first encounter, Extra Muros appeared to be something quite special. From the way the intro week was organized, a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment showed; exactly the sort of organisation I would like to be part of and contribute more to than just my membership fee. The combination of a small scale, informal ambiance and a serious focus on result and constant improvement and self evaluation makes Extra Muros a pleasant working opportunity and most interesting learning environment I feel comfortable with representing.

The function of president offers the perfect opportunity to fulfil previously named ambition. Extra Muros already does a great job in integrating new students and offering all sorts of educational and fun activities. What I would like to do is develop the concept Extra Muros stands for even further, together with you guys. There is always room for improvement, and my challenge will be not to stick to current forms, but to constantly search for points of improvement and new, innovative formulas. I see great possibilities for (further) expanding the organisations versatility and colourfulness by providing a fresh vision and the will to renew and improve.

I have the luck that I have a great team of people to call my fellow board members. However, in order to get the most out of Extra Muros, we need your help. If you feel like you can mean something extra to the organisation, if you have skills, experiences or anything else you feel like it would add to the organisation, we would love to see you apply for one of our many exiting committees. Because above all, I am looking forward to make 2011 – 2012 a wonderful and memorable year with you all!

Lars
Dear fellow students,

My name is Marleen Nuijten, an 19-year old girl, born and bred in the pleasant district Brabant in Holland. As being seen as slow rather than being quite smart I have surprised my teachers from primary school in working my way up to University. To be honest, I surprise myself sometimes as well. In the beginning of the year I was doubting whether my English was good enough and whether I could handle this study. But I simply could not accept the idea that this was going to be an ‘in between year’ and that I would have to choose another study. When I came for the admission interview and was asked what my plan B was, I replied that I did not have one. I was really aiming at getting admitted to the study, since I knew for sure that this was what I wanted to do. And once I have an idea in my head, I am not letting anything get in the way of that.

Soon I will be starting my second year of Liberal Arts and Sciences and fulfill the function of secretary of Extra Muros. It is good to keep surprising others and yourself as well, and not to play safe. Taking chances and especially, creating chances for yourself is extremely important if you want to grow as a person. I have often criticized the optimistic, dreamy and in my eyes somewhat unrealistic plans of my father, but he made me see that dreaming is not bad at all. In contrast, it helps you set goals and make them concrete. In the line of growing as a person, I will travel trough Europe this summer, to learn more about myself, become even more independent and hopefully will gain some insights that will be valuable for my board function. I have never felt like Holland is the one country I belong to, since on holiday I always feel more alive somehow. I have a strong compassion for the Mediterranean countries and especially Italy.

I have never had the mentality of studying until you reach a breakdown, and I almost never start stressing about my study. Obviously a good education is highly important, but it is not everything. For me that is motivation in combination with enjoying. I strongly believe that I only have one chance to make something out of my life, so I should try to make the very best out of it and try as many things as possible, simply live! The things I enjoy are cooking, singing, watching movies, going out, painting and dancing. Moreover I like to try things such as canyoning and hopefully bungee jumping one day. By just doing things, you will eventually (partly) overcome your fears.

The idea of becoming secretary of Extra Muros was attractive to me, because I presumed that feeling responsible that things will be taken care of, in a certain time limit but still with great care and input of fresh ideas, is something I will learn in this function and will help me for the rest of my life and career. I hope I will improve on the personal, organizational, social and communicational field tremendously. Moreover, working together with other motivated people and seeing your goals becoming reality, bringing people closer to each other and being valuable for all the students as an association simply must be an awesome feeling. I am very much looking forward to taking Extra Muros to an even higher level with my fellow board members!
Dear fellow students,

My name is Louisa Kroschel and I was born in a small town near Stuttgart, Germany. After having spent the first fourteen years of my life there, my parents suddenly decided that they wanted their children to see more of the world. As a job opportunity in South America came along, we packed our bags and moved to the capital of Peru. Although it took me some time to admit it, moving to Lima turned out to be the best thing that could have happened: it opened my eyes in many aspects, and provided me with various great opportunities for my future.

In the year 2009 I finished my High School in Lima and received the International Baccaulaureate (IB) which gave me the possibility to study basically anywhere in the world. Since I was still unsure at that time what I wanted to do, I decided to take a gap year and stay one year longer in Lima. During that year I worked as a volunteer in a school for handicapped children; both in the kindergarden and the administration section of the school. After applying to several universities around Europe, I eventually decided to come to Tilburg.

Now I am about to finish my first year in the Liberal Arts & Sciences programme and am already very excited to start my major courses in the upcoming year. After having time to settle in Tilburg and become familiar with its surroundings, I think it is time to start a new experience and become involved in other activities. Although the Liberal Arts & Sciences programme already provides a great opportunity to develop myself within a broad spectrum, it is essential for me to strengthen my abilities also outside the academic field and to extend my involvement with organizations within the university. Having said that, I applied for the position of the Vice-President in the board of Extra Muros. I believe that being part of Extra Muros is a great preparation for my future professional life and will help me develop skills that can be of use in the future.

For the upcoming year, I am eager to carry on the current activities of Extra Muros and further develop its outreach within the university. I believe that Extra Muros has a solid foundation for a promising future and I hope that with my contribution in the next year we can take the association to the next level.

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Extra Muros - Liberal Arts and Sciences study association

The Board