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I graduated from the Faculty of Psychology with a degree in Biological Psychology in the year 2000. Current students may think I’m out of the ark. Don’t worry, I sometimes think the same myself.
Who am I? In essence: I’m a ‘bon vivant’ who’s mad on wine, running and cycle racing. Following wake-up calls like thyroid cancer and a diagnosis of MS, I grab all the opportunities I can. Blogger on my website: www.maartjelinzell.nl. Mum to two boys and a wife. And a true lover of life. I persevere and push the boundaries. I’m proud of the fact that I took part in and raised money for the Alpe d'huzes challenge, and that I ran the Rotterdam Marathon on 9 April. That’s Maartje so far in a nutshell.
Last week I had the opportunity to work as a coach at the very first coachcafé, which was organised by Maastricht University. This was a great challenge for me, especially since I’m in the final phase of a coaching course and, alongside my work as a psychologist, I am keen to start my own coaching practice.
It was an inspiring evening, which was aimed at recent graduates. People who are in their first job, for example, and who are maybe thinking: is this what I really want...? And it was also an informal evening. With a glass of wine and three rounds of coaching around: Where do my talents lie? What is my dream? And what can I do to achieve it?
I need to be there when things start to get exciting. Not only as a coach, but also as a person. Because that’s when you find out what the issues are, wherein the problem lies. That’s when you get to the point where you feel like giving up. It’s at that point that I want to get involved in the conversation. Otherwise you go nowhere. And it was certainly exciting...
What a great evening! Great conversations, inspiring stories, wonderful people. So many dreams, so much passion, so many great ideas. But....... a lot of ‘musts’ too, people who are fixated on ‘what they should do’ or what is expected of them. Or who aspire to a job because ‘it’s a prestigious company’.
Life is too short to do things for that reason. And if you think like that it will be a very long time until retirement. Live your dream! Discover what makes your heart beat faster. Do what you enjoy and you’ll never do a day’s work again. Who dares wins. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. Just give it a go! What does it matter if it’s not what you expected? You can simply change direction once again.
Take it from this dinosaur: life’s too short not to enjoy it. Follow your dreams, make them happen and live life to the full.
Prizes
The competition has been divided into two different categories: a UM bachelor's and master's students category, and a category for PhD students of both Maastricht University and the Brightlands Campuses. This award is sponsored by the Brightlands Campuses.
Eligibility criteria
The bachelor's and master's competition is open to bachelor's and master's students at Maastricht University. The PhD competition is open to PhD students at Maastricht University and the Brightlands Campuses. You may participate individually or as group, and on behalf of an organisation. In order to participate in the competition, each of the submitting applicants must be enrolled at Maastricht University or in a Brightlands programme on 31 July 2017. If you win the competition, you are obliged to use the award money for the implementation of the project, as outlined in your submission.
Selection
The three best submissions in each category will be selected to participate in the final on the morning of Monday 4 September 2017. Finalists will pitch their proposal to a jury during the morning symposium of the opening of the academic year. The winners will receive the award of € 3000 each for the implementation of their research and will receive the invaluable mentorship of Prof. dr. Ramani in the process of implementation.
The six finalists will be notified by 21 August 2017.
We spoke during Pentecost. Although much of the population is Christian, there's no day off for Paulien and her colleagues.
Ten months ago, Paulien de Haes (32) moved to Tripoli in Lebanon for the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). With her degree in business economics and majors in organisation and sustainability, Paulien is the perfect generalist for the multifaceted job of Finance and Administration Manager. 'I have always been internationally oriented. I also find it extremely motivating to work for an organisation which I believe in. That really runs deep. As a result, it didn't come as a shock to my parents when I started working for the ICRC and was posted abroad'.
'As one of the neighbouring countries, Lebanon is faced with numerous Syrian refugees. With a local population which has little itself and the fear that the conflict might spill over, the situation is not always easy but the relationships are not at breaking point.' Quite a change from her previous posting to Djibouti. 'In Djibouti we worked to support Yemen with a sense of urgency, as emergency help was required and the security situation made our work more difficult.'
As an administrator, she provides all the administrative support which is required to allow the aid workers to work for and with war victims as efficiently and effectively as possible. Together with her team, Paulien is responsible for the internal travel agency, accommodation, human resources, finances, logistics and purchasing of this delegation. She is also responsible for the administration of a hospital in Tripoli, in which the ICRC treats and rehabilitates people who have been injured in the war.
As a member of the support staff, she is not directly involved with the people who are helped by the ICRC, but she does often visit the tent camps on the Syrian border. She works with the logistics team to organise the basic necessities such as food, drinking water and blankets in places where refugees gather. 'Whereas my colleagues identify the kind of help which is required, I make sure that everything is sorted out and present to ensure that the process runs smoothly. During my work for KPMG, I noticed that I liked "nerdy tasks". This is particularly useful when I am looking up procedures and rules and simplifying them for my colleagues in the field.'
'We work intensively with the local Red Cross. In addition, our employees are mainly local people: only 20% are international staff. As a result, we are very effective and are also more accepted by the local environment. Our staff know their way around, know how negotiations take place here and can speak the language. Together, we're rather similar to a tutorial group. Just like in Maastricht, I present things to my team so we can examine them from various different perspectives and reach a democratic and accepted decision for our work. I have also noticed that this really helps to motivate the team; everyone feels that they are being listened to. It is an approach which suits me and which was fine-tuned in Maastricht'.
'When I go back to the Netherlands, I mainly seek out peace and quiet. My job is very demanding and the fact that you have to operate in a foreign country is very tiring. Everything is predictable in the Netherlands; I know my way around.' As well as making up for lost time with her family and fiancé, she also tries to meet up with old friends from Maastricht from time to time. During her studies, she and a group of fellow students joined the international student recruitment team. In order to promote the university, she travelled to Indonesia, Estonia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. 'As fans of UM, we shared our stories with future students there. I have some really great memories from that time!'
Paulien de Haes graduated from the School of Business and Economics in 2007 with a master's degree in Management, Change and Consultancy.
By Charlotte Groven, June 2017
