Board Blog: Quirine Rodenberg
Hi, my name is Quirine Rodenberg and I am this years’ Internal Relations and Education Officer! Before I applied for the board I did not know TeMa that well, but after I joined the in-house tour that year I had such a fun time that I decided to apply. This turned out to be a really good choice! In this blog I will tell you all about why this was such a good choice, my experiences and what my life looks like as being a board member.
What my week looks like
From Monday till Thursday on, we work with the whole board together in our office at the Interim in Duisenberg. Here, we have our office together with the other study associations of the FEB. Most of the days we are here from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m, working on our daily tasks and socializing with each other and the active members that come visit us. We also have good contact with the other boards where we can walk into each other's offices whenever we want to ask questions, share thoughts or just have a nice conversation.
After our office days, two or three times a week on average, we have some activities in the evening. These activities consist of our own events, events of the other study associations at the Interim or constitution drinks of associations in Groningen. Since we of course also have to eat, we eat together a lot as well before the events during the week. I like to spend my free evenings with friends and I also play field hockey one evening per week.
The weekends are (most of the time) free of board stuff. Because of this I also have time to work 12 hours a week. I do this on Fridays and Saturday mornings, leading to a free Saturday afternoon and Sunday. These days I spend time with friends as well, or I go to my parents to stay the weekend there. On monday, the week starts all over again.
What my daily tasks are
As Internal Relations and Education Officer you are responsible for the recruitment, selection and guidance of the committees of TeMa. In September, February and May we have recruitment periods, followed by a week of interviews and composing the committees. When the committees start working on their tasks, it is your task to guide them whenever and wherever necessary. This consists of joining committee meetings or having contact with the chairs of the committees to discuss the progress, ask and answer questions or help organize the events by taking over small tasks. As Internal you are in contact with a lot of different people of the association, which is really fun!
Besides the committees, you are also responsible for the study pillar of TeMa. This consists for example of obtaining new summaries, so all the summaries of all courses on our website are up-to-date, and guiding the study sessions.
Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, we have our board meetings where we discuss all the operational stuff going on at that moment. During these meetings I update the rest of the board about the committees and the events of my responsibility that are organized by the board. In these meetings we also discuss the progress of our policy, which we are working on all together in order to take the association to a higher level. This year, I am mostly focussing on the study part of our policy where we implemented a new summary campaign.
Besides the tasks mentioned above, I also spend a lot of time during my day socializing with the people that are visiting our office for a cup of tea, a piece of fruit or the ‘cookie of the week’.
My experience so far
Even though I am only halfway in my board year, it is the best year of my student life so far! I met a lot of new people, made new friends for life and I never stepped out of my comfort zone this much before. Doing a board year is your chance to develop yourself even more while doing the most amazing things with the best people. I can never recommend anything more than applying for the Board of 2024-2025 and of course for the function of Internal Relations and Education Officer :)
If you are still doubting or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me (+31 6 53 40 58 16). Give me a call, a text or let’s schedule a coffee!
> Click here to read the Board Experience of Martijn - Chairman
> Click here to read the Board Experience of Joëlle - Secretary & Promotion Officer
> Click here to read the Board Experience of Tristan - Treasurer & Vice-Chairman
> Click here to read the Board Experience of Tijmen - External Relations Officer
