For the Dutch version, click here. As secretary, my responsibilities include taking minutes at meetings, the association’s incoming and outgoing communications and annual planning. In addition, I have organized the Audit Activity and coordinate the StudyTour and Faces Online committees. In this article I share how I have experienced my year as secretary of Asset | Accounting & Finance so far, what challenges I still see for my final months and why I made the decision to do a board year last year! Who am I? I am Lars van Maris, 21 years old and currently a 4th year Bachelor Economics & Business Economics student. In my free time I like to play field hockey, or sit outside somewhere quiet to read. After I finished my VWO in Eindhoven, Tilburg seemed like a nice city to study, and when I found a room in Tilburg 2 weeks before TOP-week I started to build my own place. My choice for Asset | Accounting & Finance During TOP week, like many before me, I walked past the tables of Asset and then joined them. Unlike others in my TOP group, I did not then become active in a department. I did join Vidar then, and it is here that I met someone who later told me about the Accounting & Finance Department. Besides planning to study Finance myself after my bachelor’s, the activities and events I heard about also seemed very nice to me, so then I contacted the then Vice-Chairman to become active. The reason I finally decided to put myself in as secretary for a year When I started college, I already knew that I would not or did not want to run nominally with my studies. Your student time is a period in your life where you can learn so much that I knew very quickly that I wanted to make the most of it. Besides, it also looks very good on your resume if you have done some things besides your studies. So from year one I became active at Vidar and SHOT, and about two years later also at Asset | Accounting & Finance. Within Vidar and SHOT I had already come into contact with people who did or had done a year in those associations, and after talking to them about this I thought it would be a very valuable addition to my time as a student. As I learned more about what each position does within A&F and talked to then directors about serving on boards in general, it quickly became clear to me that the secretary position would suit me best. This is where my orderliness really comes into its own and where I can learn the most from everyone else. “What do you do as Secretary on the Board and why are you always so busy?” As Secretary, of course you have the classic tasks such as taking minutes of the meetings and managing incoming and outgoing communication via email, for example. In addition, as Secretary I am responsible for 2 committees, namely the StudyTour committee and the Faces Online Committee. Also, together with our Vice-chairman Julia, I am currently responsible for maintaining our website and the events and activities we have on it. Other than that, I don’t really have very big tasks anymore, but so this does mean that I have the time to take on some more of the smaller tasks that are left between us from time to time. I also continue to play field hockey actively at SHOT during my board year and I still have to work quite often on the weekends. This all together ensures that I generally have a nice full schedule. “So what kind of ‘smaller’ tasks do you have?” One of the most common smaller tasks on the board in designing promotion and social media. For this we generally use the design programs Indesign or Canva. Throughout the year, I have used these to create promotional materials for such events as the StudyTour, Faces Online, and several other events and activities. I also occasionally take over other small tasks from other board members when they don’t have time for this, such as drafting a message for our group app or an email. I also sometimes went with the externs to the meetings with our partners during the summer to support them here and take notes of the discussions. Picking up all these small tasks gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of new things and to be able to watch and learn from many different aspects of our board. “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything and I have absolutely no regrets about my choice.” Faces Online was in the beginning a task I often spent all morning with on Wednesdays but over the months I have learned to handle this much faster and more agile and learned a lot about and from this. As Secretary, I am also responsible for the StudyTour, and although this is one of the busiest and largest committees in all of A&F, I am very happy that it falls under my position. The committee is great to work with and the satisfaction that will soon be there when we have successfully put on and completed this event is something that makes all that effort more than worth it. In addition, I have had the opportunity to attend events and activities that you can hardly find anywhere else and partly through the events and activities I have been able to greatly expand my network. “What moments will you never forget from your board year?” The first moments that will stay with me forever are the night I was told who I was going to form a board with, and the first board weekend we all went to. On both occasions I got to know the rest of my board better than the entire time before that in which I already knew them. On the weekend we
A board year as Vice-Chairman of Asset | Accounting & Finance – Jonas van Voorst
For the Dutch version, click here. Who am I? I am Jonas van Voorst, 21 years old and come from beautiful Den Bosch. In February 2020 I started living in my room and I really like it. I am now in the third year of the bachelor International Business Administration, and am taking a number of courses in preparation for the MSc. Economics. Before my board year, I was convinced to follow the Accountancy master, but since I started, I am more oriented and have gained a strong interest in Economics. Furthermore, I started within A&F with the Activities Committee a year ago, I really enjoyed it and therefore decided to do a board year. My choice to do a board year. The choice for a year on the board was actually made pretty quickly. I was not very convinced about my choice to do a master’s degree yet, and because of corona my student life had been put on pause for a while, so I wanted to extend it. When Joep called me if I was interested in applying, I figured this was a good opportunity to discover where my interests lay, and thus extend my student life. Furthermore, I noticed that I was very chaotic in my studies. A year on the board has given me a fixed rhythm and a much more organised way of working. For example, I have an agenda where I put my appointments and a notebook where I keep track of my tasks. Among other things, these are important soft skills that you develop during your board year. I also wanted to develop myself socially, for this reason I also joined A&F. As a board member, I work with 6 people every day, and you speak to a lot of people within A&F and Asset, so you learn to deal with many different types of people. In addition, my resume was very empty, and I thought a board year was a very good way to change that. Of course I also do it for fun, besides the tasks I have, I regularly do fun things with my board in the rooms or at someone’s house, because of this I have a good bond that will continue after my board year. I also attend almost every party, and have regular get-togethers with other boards, through which I have also made many friends! What a Vice-Chairman does all day long The to-do list of a Vice-Chairman is very vague, which is why I often get asked by friends if I do anything all day besides being hungover and playing a game of Mario Kart. As Vice-Chairman, I am responsible for several things. Since I’m in the rooms almost all day, I have a good sense of what’s going on, and here I occasionally talk about it with the chairman, Luc. I also take over the chairman’s duties when he is not here. I also still have my own duties. I am responsible for the internal policy of A&F. This includes filling the committees, informal promotion and I am also responsible for the active and passive members. I arrange the study support in the form of guidelines, CoEE and various trainings. Furthermore, I organise the introduction activities for the Master of Accountancy and Finance, board trainings, the Citytrip Replacement Activity and the Audit Activity together with our secretary, Lars van Maris. Finally, within A&F I also make sure that the website is up to date. Think of events, news, partner pages. This is another side to being informal so I find that a very nice change. Within Asset Tilburg, I also have plenty of duties. I sit on four Asset bodies: the Public Relations meeting, the Webmaster meeting, the BE cluster and the Study Support meeting. The Public Relations meeting is a weekly meeting with the Vice-Chairmans of each department. Together we organise, among other things, all informal activities from Asset Tilburg. Think of the Kick-Off party or the Pre-Carnival party. We are also responsible for most of the promotion of Asset Tilburg. I am responsible for the budget of the promotion and activities. I also attend the Webmaster meeting with every Asset board member who manages the website of his/her own department. Together we manage the website of Asset Tilburg, we are also busy redesigning the site. I also join the BE cluster every Thursday. Together with S&L, SBIT and Marketing we are responsible for the committees and activities for first- and second-year Business Economics students. I coordinate two committees: the Date Dinner Committee and the Accounting Insight Committee. Starting next year, the Vice-Chairman is also going to coordinate the Citytrip Committee, but unfortunately it will not happen this year. What is the most enjoyable aspect of the Vice-Chairman position? I really like different aspects of the Vice-Chairman position. When I applied, I knew that the Vice-Chairman position appealed to me by far the most of the positions. I regularly saw what my predecessor, Joep, was doing and this excited me. What I like most is that through the conversations with active members you get a picture of each member, and for the active members you are also a point of contact, so at activities you are quickly addressed and you quickly get to know everyone. This contact is not only a lot of fun, but also educational because you get to interact with different types of people Would I recommend a board year? I would definitely recommend a board year! It is a great consideration, so don’t be afraid to talk to a current board member. This can be very helpful if you run into something or want a new insight. Ultimately, a board year is an investment in yourself that you are going to benefit from for a long time to come through your development and connections, and beyond that you are going to be able to look back on this with a lot of joy!
Working At Fagro
Who am I? My name is Jeroen Florissen, and I am 23 years old. Originally, I am from a small village near Nijmegen, where I grew up with my parents and sister. Then I dove beneath the rivers and ended up in Tilburg. I lived there for over a year, after which I moved to the Burgundian Den Bosch. I have been happily living here for almost a year now. What have I done? As I mentioned, I am originally from a village close to the cozy student-town Nijmegen where I enjoyed studying for my bachelor Accountancy at the University of Applied Sciences of Arnhem and Nijmegen. Although I discovered during my internship that accountancy wouldn’t be my future, I am still satisfied retrospectively. I am still reaping the benefits of the foundation I constructed during this bachelor. I noticed I was more interested in the business aspect and therefore opted to go study for a master Strategic Management in Tilburg. Once again, I really enjoyed my time in Tilburg and at the university! After graduating I worked for a little less than a year for a small accountancy firm in Eindhoven. How did I end up at Fagro? Your time as a student is not solely made up out of working hard, partying, sleeping in and trying to figure out how you enroll for the correct schedules and tutorials on Blackboard… It is also the moment when orientating on the job market starts playing a major role. I advise you to be proactive in this aspect. You can do this by putting in the small effort of updating your LinkedIn profile. For example, I had never heard of Fagro, but I was approached by their recruiter via LinkedIn for an orientating interview. This interview clicked on both sides and I ended up in the official application procedure and I am working for Fagro since August. Why Fagro? Next to the relaxed and informal vibe that struck me during the interviews, the organization as a whole suits me. Especially for someone still in the starting phase of their career, and not exactly sure where their ambitions lie, working on secondment is an ideal way to get a taste of each part of business. Business Managers within Fagro take the time to select a suitable project for you and are very involved in your personal development. In addition, personal development is stimulated by the large amount of training the company offers its employees. In this manner you can improve on a professional as well as a social level. ”Within a short amount of time I have to become familiar with all systems and make sure the client is satisfied with our service after the job is done.” What am I doing now? I am currently working for Patheon Softgels in Tilburg. This is a manufacturing company for pharmaceuticals and they requested assistance in restoring and analyzing part of their administration. I collaborate with a small team in the finance department in order to clear the back log, as well as to make improvements for the future. More specifically, I am occupied with sorting the suspense account on the accounts payable. It is a short but intense assignment. Within a short amount of time I have to become familiar with all systems and make sure the client is satisfied with our service after the job is done. I am really enjoying it and am looking forward to the assignments ahead! What advice do I have for students? I want to advice you to explore the possibilities for an internship during your studies. As I am a graduate of the Applied Sciences program I had to do an internship as part of the curriculum, but this isn’t mandatory at the university. Completing an internship lead me to making the right choice for both my Master program and field direction. An internship is an excellent way to apply your theoretical capabilities in practice, and to get a taste of a certain discipline or industry. There is a lot to learn next to the reading material. Furthermore, I want to advise you to thoroughly enjoy the best time of your life; your time as a student! In case you have any questions, or want to know more, don’t hesitate to contact me via LinkedIn!