Connected: Karina (35) and Cock Raaijmakers (67)

Family portrait

Interview in ea.

TEXT: Marjolein Stormezand
PHOTO: © Antim Photography

Ea. 17: Verbonden: Karina en Cock Raaijmakers
Foto’s mogen niet gebruikt worden tenzij na uitdrukkelijke toestemming van de uitgever van ea. magazine.

Karina (director of the Dutch Healthcare Authority) and Cock Raaijmakers (independent educator and advisor) are clearly father and daughter. He is proud of his eldest, and she is respectful and loving toward her father. At Karina Raaijmakers’ kitchen table in Rotterdam Zuid the two tell their family about their time at Erasmus University.


Cock Raaijmakers went to study economy at Erasmus in 1973. ‘It was a good education that would allow me to go anywhere.’ During his time at the university he also taught on the side. After graduating he became the director of Doordrecht’s municipality school of economy (now known as the Da Vinci College). Starting in 1993 he began advising schools about the implementation of new finance structures following country-wide educational expansion. By now Cock has reached his retirement age but he won’t stop anytime soon. Because work is joy, whether it’s paid or unpaid. This is why he’s currently helping students in Oud-Charlois set up a business plan.

‘My father always said that economy could take you anywhere. That really appealed to me.’

His daughter also went on to study Economy. ‘My father always said that economy could take you anywhere. That really appealed to me.’ Next to that she studied Law. Karina: ‘I noticed that I was good at it, so I did everything in my power to make sure I was able to do it.’ In 2007 she finished both majors with honours.


She still feels connected to the university, in part because she still gives guest lectures at the School of Law. Just like her father, teaching comes naturally to Karina and she enjoys standing in front of the class. Occasionally Karina’s father joins in on her classes to watch his daughter capture the students’ imaginations.

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