Due to the corona virus, our board interest evening continues in a different way (Skype). To give more information about a board year at STC, we give the word to former board members.
Today Anouschka Luijpen, secretary of the board in 2018/2019, tells more about her position and what it brought her.
“Who are you, what was your position during your board year and in which year was your board?”
My name is Anouschka Luijpen and in 2018 – 2019 I was secretary of Serve the City Tilburg. Since this academic year I am on the Advisory Board of STC.
“Have you benefited from your time at Serve in the years following your board?”
Absolutely! As a secretary you have all kinds of different tasks and there is always something you still have to do. As a result, I can now plan a lot better and I no longer just shy away from a full agenda, which is very useful if you do two studies at the same time as I do. I also learned how to organize a big activity and met a lot of new people, which I still speak to regularly. Taking minutes is also a task that you no longer have any problems with after a year as secretary.
“What is the most valuable thing you learned during your board year?”
The most valuable thing is that I have learned to accept that things don’t always go the way you planned and that this is often not so bad at all. No matter how well you have prepared something, unexpected things will still happen, such as forty elderly people who suddenly arrive an hour earlier than planned. It is then take a deep breath and switch quickly, but in the end it almost always works out!
“What activity did you remember most?”
For me, that is certainly Serve the Moms, where we organized a fun afternoon for mothers and children in a stay-away-from-my-house as a distraction from their worries. It was our first activity of the year and also the activity of my own committee, so very exciting. There were some minor startup problems, but they were quickly forgotten once we saw the happy faces of all mothers and children. It’s amazing how happy you can make kids with a slice of cake and whipped cream, or moms with a pack of care products. Being able to do something for people in such an annoying situation is a very nice experience and I would do it again.
