During your studies or work you might run into issues for which you don’t have an immediate solution. Or where you’d like to exchange ideas with others. ESSB wants everyone to feel at home and to be heard at the faculty. As a student or employee you don’t have to just keep going despite having questions or problems.
Zera Brink - student life officer
Zera Brink has been the Student Life Officer since August 2019. She’s there for all non-study-related questions from students. International students have questions about housing and insurance, but also about life in the Netherlands. The international students are welcomed warmly each year with the introductory days organised by Zera and her colleagues. Zera: “There are 400 students in the room who get to know the various departments on the faculty and campus, and who also learn about life in the Netherlands, all in a very brief period. For example, the police will explain rules that are relevant to students, such as the ban on using mobile phones when cycling, and the rules surrounding drug use.” Unfortunately this academic year has been shaped largely by the coronavirus, but Zera hopes to expand the number of events throughout the year, to give students a better chance to have contact with each other. “I regret that we have less (physical) contact with students at this time. Because that’s what adds such great variety to my work. That you don’t know exactly which student will come in today and what kind of question they may have.” It doesn’t stop Zera from making the best of it. “I just have a big heart for students, and I will push out all the stops to do as much as possible for them, even in this day and age!”
Read more about the Student Life Officer.
Ellie Cercel – happy student society
Improving the mental health of students: that’s the goal of the Happy Student Society student initiative. Ellie Cercel is a second-year student of psychology and president of the society. She joined the initiative after going through a difficult time of her own: “At that time, I noticed how nice it is when someone is there to listen to you. That’s not self-evident. It can be quite difficult to get the right help on campus.” So last year the society decided to recruit and train students as ‘ambassadors’. With assistance from psychology student advisors, they offer help to students who get stuck. “The most important thing is that we are approachable and we listen carefully. Lots of pressure can arise during your studies because of internships and other important activities. If this is at the expense of your mental health, then the pressure becomes too great and having a fellow student just to listen to you can help,” says Ellie. The Happy Student Society has a physical space on campus in the ‘living room’. This is a place for different student organisations all sharing the same goal: to improve the well-being, inclusiveness and health of students. But with the current Covid-19 situation, ambassadors are offering online helping sessions. Ellie hopes that Erasmus University will keep an eye on the mental health of students. “It would be good for some students if we could work together to reduce the step to professional help.”
Read more about the Happy Student Society.
Martine van de Paal - confidential counsellor
Martine van de Paal has been a confidential counsellor for the faculty staff for almost two years. She helps colleagues who don’t feel safe at work for a variety of reasons. When Martine was asked to become a confidential advisor, she thought this job would be much like her other one: study advisor. But in practice it turns out to be different. Martine: “As a study advisor I advise students. But as a confidential advisor I will never tell a colleague what to do in his or her situation. I help the employee in his or her search for a suitable solution.” Martine is part of a larger network of confidential advisors, because each faculty has its own confidential advisor. There are also two confidential advisors working at a central level. “That’s not surprising,” says Martine. “If you want to speak to a confidential counsellor, you can choose who you go to. You might think: ‘I’m going to Martine, because she knows my faculty.’ But in some cases it might feel better to approach a different confidential counsellor. Someone who doesn’t know the faculty and your colleagues as well as you do. A confidential contact person conducts one or more confidential conversations. They discuss what someone needs very openly.” The fact that she can help an employee find a solution that suits him or her is something Martine learned during the training course for becoming a confidential counsellor. “If you’re stuck, it’s so nice that you can talk to someone who doesn’t judge or who wants to impose solutions. The solution really lies with the person, and it emerges when I give them space.”
Read more about confidential counsellors.
Marieke Meeuwisse – #Ibelong
Since 2018 Marieke Meeuwisse has led the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership project #IBelong, in which four European universities, a diversity policy expertise centre and a knowledge innovation centre work together. The #IBelong project is an innovative programme of interventions to make the higher education learning environment more inclusive, so that students feel connected regardless of their backgrounds. One of the interventions in #IBelong is the student community mentoring programme that has been accelerated successfully during the past months of corona. The programme aims to increase the resilience of first-year students. Older students play an important role here. Mentors are trained in accordance with the #IBelong method, to teach students to recognise their resources, network and qualities. The programme lets them get to know themselves better. Marieke is happy that the reactions are very positive after the first year of the mentoring programme. As she notes, such positive reactions don’t only come from first-year students: “The mentors are also very positive. They recognise the insecurity of their often younger fellow students, because they themselves have had to deal with this as freshmen. They know how important it is to be courageous and ask for help.” According to Marieke, the match between mentor and student is very important if the mentoring is to succeed: “We look closely at the needs of the student and whether the mentor has the same background and experience. This helps students feel more at ease, which makes it safer to share certain concerns or obstacles.” Marieke hopes that all interventions will increase the feeling of recognition and appreciation within higher education for all students in the years ahead. “I want students to feel comfortable within the gates of the university. You have achieved this for a reason: you can do this and you belong here!”
Read more about #ibelong.