{"id":149553,"date":"2023-02-01T14:45:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T13:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=149553"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:37","slug":"sjans-plays-shuffleboard-at-the-alumni-drinks-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/02\/01\/sjans-plays-shuffleboard-at-the-alumni-drinks-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Stolen glances across the shuffleboard at the alumni drinks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scent of mulled wine, pea soup and high expectations is clearly evident in the Bayle building on Thursday evening. Half an hour after the start, the alumni New Year’s drinks party is already well underway.<\/p>\n

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Ard van Kooten next to a Christmas stall.<\/span><\/p>

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Richard Carlebur and Simone Pouw.<\/span><\/p>

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Richard Carlebur (33) is steadily hoovering up a bowl of pea soup in the corridor while chatting with Simone Pouw, communications officer at alumni relations. \u201cSimone had a welcoming look, that\u2019s how we got talking.\u201d Although the Philosophy alumnus came to the party alone, he expected to meet acquaintances and acquire new ones. \u201cThey might become friends for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dutch dancing<\/h2>

As a municipal councillor in Barendrecht, he regularly has to attend networking meetings and drinks gatherings. \u201cI\u2019m an introvert and a fairly timid person by nature. Usually, you know at a first glance whether there\u2019s a click. If not, you move onto someone else.\u201d While working as a council member, his studies still come in handy. \u201cI have to read a lot, play around with words.\u201d Does he ever throw a Hegel quote into the council room? \u201cI did in the beginning, but I only got glazed looks in response.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ard van Kooten next to a Christmas stall.<\/span><\/p>

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Two guys who just signed in walk by. One says: \u201cName tags too, what else could you want?\u201d Inside the room, Sue Martin, director of alumni relations, has started her welcome speech. She is talking about the power of community. \u201cIt\u2019s what drives me.\u201d She encourages the people present to talk to her staff to find out what the alumni office can do for them (or vice versa). \u201cYou can dance too, if you want to.\u201d She invites people to give a demonstration of \u2018Dutch dancing\u2019, but nobody takes up the challenge.<\/p>\n

A lot of food<\/h2>

Other than that, there is mainly food \u2013 a lot of food. Deep-fried dough balls, apple fritters, tiny round pancakes, mashed potatoes and kale, stew, croquettes and hot dogs, not to mention the famous pea soup. This Dutch seasonal food is handed out from Christmas market stalls. Mulled wine, hot chocolate and the open bar are all included in the fifteen-euro ticket.<\/p>\n

In a corner next to the pancake stand, Ard van Kooten (who studied law and MBA, 33) has just polished off his pancakes. \u201cI felt like something sweet, and I thought it was a bit antisocial to stand inside the room eating them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going wild<\/h2>

The last time Ard was interviewed by Erasmus Magazine<\/em> was in 2012. \u201cI was chairman of the Smitse at the time and it was about the kidnapping<\/a> of the Beertje Spoorloos teddy bear.\u201d He hopes to meet other people he knows. \u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed networking. You never know what might come of talking to someone. It\u2019s certainly helped me to broaden my horizons. If you just hang around in your own field of work, there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll get stuck there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His expectations for tonight? \u201cI think the place will go wild. But no, I\u2019m not going to dance, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll stay that late. Dutch dancing is a bit stiff, you know, you don\u2019t move around much\u2026\u201d He goes back into the room: \u201cI\u2019ll just do a round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabulous<\/h2>
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Callie Weber and Ayaz Ahmad <\/span><\/p>

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At the bar, fellow students Callie Weber (MBA, 27) and Ayaz Ahmad (MBA, 30) have just opened some soft drinks. There were twenty tickets left for tonight, and they were given away to students. Ayaz has a clear goal in mind: \u201cInteraction, acquiring knowledge, developing my network.\u201d He also hopes that alumni will have some tips to help him through the difficult MBA programme. Callie is hoping to see a \u2018different side\u2019 of alumni at the drinks party. \u201cA nicer side.\u201d They have spoken to about five people so far, and Ahmed has already learned things about financial technology.<\/p>\n

Callie is planning to stay in the Netherlands, so she hopes to find out about possible jobs. Ayaz has yet to decide. \u201cAlthough I do love the beautiful landscape and the climate. That wonderful cold, and especially the strong wind. It really reminds me of India. High in the Himalayas it also blows that hard, it pumps me up.\u201d The DJ starts playing Every 1\u2019s a Winner<\/em> by Hot Chocolate. \u201cThis could be my own playlist!\u201d All the same, he certainly has no plans to dance. \u201cI think people would kill themselves if I started dancing. I\u2019m good at classical Indian dance, but these clothes are too tight for that.\u201d Callie hesitantly passes on the stew with vegan sausage. \u201cBut all that vegetarian food is fabulous!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Stolen glances across the shuffleboard<\/h2>
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Nancy Tulner<\/span><\/p>

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Nancy Tulner (54) is already sneaking out. The employee at alumni relations thinks that things could be a lot busier next year. There were around 180 people tonight, half of whom are from the RSM. She points to the largely empty corridor. \u201cAnother 200 people could easily fit in here, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Dutch games department, two couples (two psychology teachers, plus guests) are playing a game of Jenga. They think that lots of alumni come to flirt or look for a partner. Wouter Loerts, who graduated from ESE in 2021: \u201cI saw plenty of curious women looking at me.\u201d Julia Baur (Psychology alumna): \u201cThis is probably also a good event for that kind of thing.\u201d Her colleague Judith Sabelis (also a Psychology alumna) adds: \u201cHey, the shuffleboard is free.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wouter Loerts, Julia Baur, Jeremy Sabelis, Judith Sabelis play jenga. <\/span><\/p>

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Binnen is de dansvloer nog steeds leeg. De dj hoopt desalniettemin dat er nog wel gedanst gaat worden. \u201cIk ben denk ik iets te vroeg begonnen met \u00e9chte dansmuziek, mensen hebben eerst nog een paar drankjes nodig.\u201d Als hij wanhopig is, heeft hij altijd nog de Macarena achter de hand. \u201cAls ze daar niet op dansen, dan weet ik het niet meer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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