Board Blog: Martijn Brouwer

Hi all! My name is Martijn Brouwer and I am this years’ chairman of TeMa. Last year I was the chairman of TeMa’s Sustainability Event Committee, while completing 2/3rd of my master’s in supply chain management. To focus on my Board year, I made the choice to pause my Masters. In this blog I will tell you a little bit about my tasks as Chairman of TeMa and what my life looks like as a Board member. 

What my week looks like

To give you the best overview of what my week looks like, I will differentiate between days and nights: 

Days (start: 10:00u, lunch: 12:00u, end: 16:00u)

I’ll start with some general introduction to give you a feeling of the overall setting. Together with other boards of Study Associations from the Faculty of Economics and Business, we work on our daily tasks in our own office (/hok) at the Interim, which can be found at Zernike. Within our Board, we have agreed to be present at our hok from Monday till Thursday from 10:00 till 16:00. Most of the time, I can be found in our office. This is always good fun, since I sit together with my whole board. Besides, many TeMa members and board members from other study associations come by for a little chit chat, a coffee or a piece of fruit. 

On Mondays and Thursdays, we always start with our Board Meetings. The rest of my week will be dedicated to my To-do-list, a lot of meetings and a lot of talking (with both my own board and other board members of our Interim).

Night 

As a Board you have the opportunity to meet many new people in many different settings. Firstly, we as TeMa sometimes have our own social or career events in the evenings. Secondly, many nights will be spent on socializing with other Study Associations, where we go to the monthly socials of all the study associations from our faculty for instance. Moreover, as a board we get many invites over the year to attend constitution drinks of other associations across Groningen. To make it even more fun; as a board we do mixes with all our committees and also with other boards, which are always a lot of fun. 

Because of the many nightly activities, the board and I are eating together regularly.

What my daily tasks are

And what I am actually doing? The best part of being chairman is the variation you have in this function. On a daily basis I always start my day with checking my agenda and answering some emails. The rest of my days are determined by the meetings and my to-do-list. Next to my own responsibilities like the coordination of the board and leading meetings, I support my fellow board members where necessary. I have to be aware of what everybody is doing. Another task of being chairman that I enjoy a lot is that you are the contact person of all external parties (with the exception of company relations). This means that I have periodic meetings with other study associations, the Department of Operations and political parties for example.

My experience so far

It’s a blast! I think a board year like this has the perfect combination between serious business and fun. Meeting so many nice people and having so much fun while I really feel myself growing on a personal level. Speaking for hundreds of people, being part of the diploma ceremonies and giving students a nice time in Groningen… how nice is that! Everyday something fun happens and everyday I create new memories.

Of course you will encounter challenges and difficult situations, but at the end of the day, it will all be fine!

I hope that with this blog I gave insight on the position of chairman in the TeMa Board. It is not possible to explain everything in a blog, but if you want more information, you can always message me (+31 6 22 67 59 25) for a coffee or a beer!

> 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 Quirine - Internal Relations & Educations Officer

> Click here to read the Board Experience of Tijmen - External Relations Officer

> Visit our Board Info Meeting @ Foudcourt