{"id":105428,"date":"2019-11-07T13:38:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T12:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=105428"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:33","slug":"freshman-at-the-age-of-54-even-if-you-are-a-bit-older-you-can-still-be-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/11\/07\/freshman-at-the-age-of-54-even-if-you-are-a-bit-older-you-can-still-be-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Freshman at the age of 54: ‘Even if you are a bit older, you can still be a student’"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 10.50 on a Friday morning and we\u2019re in lecture room CB-05.\u00a0Looking around the lecture room, most of the students are aged between 18 and 23. But at the age of 54, Annemarie de Graaf is an exception.\u00a0EM spends a morning with her.<\/p>\n

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Annemarie de Graaf<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

While the other students start to trickle in, Annemarie de Graaf is already in her seat. Before the lecture starts, she chats to her fellow students, mainly about the upcoming exams. During the lecture on the History of Western Art and Culture, however, she prefers to sit on her own.<\/p>\n

Annemarie\u2019s introduction to student life was Eureka week. Paula and Marijn, two girls from her group, were surprised when they saw Annemarie. \u201cI thought she was a professor, perhaps an older supervisor, but definitely not a student. Now I think it\u2019s amazing that she\u2019s started a new study.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018At first I thought she was a professor, but definitely not a student\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Broken arm<\/h2>

For Annemarie, the opening in Ahoy and the party in Maassilo were the highlights of Eureka week, because you could see everyone together. But the week didn\u2019t go exactly as planned. On the second day, she broke her arm when the brakes on her bike failed. She didn\u2019t go out partying after that, but did attend the other activities like the festival on Thursday. Nevertheless, it was a successful week. \u201cSome of the students told me that they\u2019d called home to tell them how things were going and to say that you could go and study even when you\u2019re older. Suddenly I\u2019d become an example for others, which was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

I understand Annemarie not feeling the need like most students to party till 4 a.m. But she did think the music in Beurs sounded good, so she might well be going out with her fellow students sometime soon. With respect to other extra-curricular activities, she\u2019s more like the rest: \u201cI might do something in ACE next year, but for now I just want to survive my first year.\u201d Laughs: \u201cOverall, I feel like a real student.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmber van Workum<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

For the past 10 years, Annemarie worked as head of purchasing for Erasmus University. Although she often had to think creatively about suitable solutions, she wanted to do something else. After her husband died, she decided to go her own way. \u201cSustainability is one of the big issues that concern me. We must move from asking \u2018what is the problem\u2019 to \u2018how will we solve it\u2019. Art is a way to start the discussion.\u201d During the lecture, they talk about positivism after the First World War and how people thought that we\u2019d have air taxis in the year 2000.<\/p>\n

As a former member of staff of the university, she\u2019s seen \u2018both worlds\u2019. \u201cStaff and students share the same campus, but as a student you don\u2019t truly realise everything that the staff do for you. The worlds are organised completely differently, and that takes a bit of getting used to sometimes.\u201d For example, she now uses very different facilities, like the coffee vending machines and the normal toilets. Online platforms like Osiris and Canvas are also new to her and without her staff pass, she can\u2019t pop in and have a coffee with her former colleagues.<\/p>\n

Unlike the students in front of us, Annemarie doesn\u2019t open Facebook or Instagram during the lecture. She diligently takes notes about the music of fauvism, cubism and futurism and stays focused. That reflects her genuine interest in the subject.<\/p>\n

After her study, she wants to use art to get people thinking about big issues. Take sustainability, for example. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the big issues that concern me. I\u2019m not really an artist myself; I see myself more as an intermediary between artists and society. I want to get people discussing complex changes, like sustainability, before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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