Who did you want to be when you were a child?
‘As a child, I wanted to become a top athlete. I was then, and still am now, an avid runner, and I ran at a reasonable level in my youth – up to and including the Dutch youth selection. After a career in top-level sports, I wanted to go into the catering industry. It runs in my family. Ideally, I wanted to have my own restaurant, on a beach in a warm country. But it all turned out differently. Not that I regret it: I now have the most beautiful job in the Netherlands.’
Why did you choose to study in Nijmegen?
‘The Seven Hills Running Team is actually the reason I made the move from Uden to Nijmegen. During my secondary school days, I often travelled to Papendal to train. I wanted to study in the city where I also played top sports. Radboud University was the nearest university, so Nijmegen became my student city. On ‘late choosers’ day’, I walked across the Radboud campus to choose a study programme, although I knew I wanted to do something with political science or public administration. I ended up attending some trial lectures and my choice fell on Public Administration. The small-scale nature of the study programme and the variety of courses appealed to me. Just a few weeks later, I went through orientation week, which, by the way, I thought was a very nice experience.’
Did your study programme make you see things from a different perspective?
‘During my studies, I often used to think: ‘What am I actually learning? And what am I going to do when I finish my studies?’ People who study law usually become lawyers. That goes without saying and gives law students some idea of what to expect. But what do public administration graduates actually do? I know that I made the right choice: after my studies, I started working as a management trainee at ProRail where I eventually became an advisor. The different perspectives that I had encountered in Public Administration proved to be extremely valuable in my work. The fact is that you’re often the linchpin in a company or public organisation. And that’s when it’s vital to be able to see the many different perspectives. It still helps me enormously to look at problems and dilemmas from different angles and take the right perspective at the right time.’
