Board

Our board of 2023-2024 consists of:

Mare Plantinga – Chair
Walt Kraeger – Secretary
Robin Bakker – Treasurer
Amy Senne – Assessor

Our board would like to introduce itself to you!

Hi everyone!

I'm Mare Plantinga and this year I'm the chair of our beautiful association Sophia Aeterna! I am now in my third year of the bachelor Classics and I am taking the Practicum Musicae minor at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. I am from Amersfoort (fun fact: distance Amersfoort-Leiden is the same as Athens-Corinth) and I have been living in Leiden for a year now. I love to cycle on the Rapenburg, those lanterns continue to have something magical, reflected in the canals and in the background the flag on the Academy Building.

My day mostly consists of reading classical authors and playing the cello - a perfect combination, if you ask me. This year I will also add organizing Sophia activities, chairing board meetings and writing the foreword for the monthly newsletter! Or having a meeting with one of Sophia's committees, attending orchestra rehearsals, watching Netflix, perhaps even preparing for exams? Plenty on my to-do-list, but I'm always up for a chat! So don't hesitate to talk to me in the Arsenaal or wherever you see me, I think that's lovely. Besides, activities are more fun when there are more people, so I hope to see you all at the Sophia activities and drinks this year!

Love,
Mare

Mare

Hi everyone!

My name is Walt Kraeger and this year I’ll be Sophia Aeterna’s secretary. I’m 19 years old and I’m from the picturesque-but-in-only-certain-places city of Amersfoort (just like our lovely chair). Next year I will start my third (but not my final) year of the bachelor Classics and the second year of the bachelor Linguistics. Besides my studies, I also enjoy singing in the choir of Collegium Musicum and participating in Sophia's many activities with my fellow classicists! All in all, I’m usually busy at the university, so you are bound to see me wandering around the corridors.

As secretary, I will be taking care of the administration of Sophia Aeterna this year. This means I will be taking minutes of all meetings and bothering my board mates at those meetings with the mail we have received. Furthermore, I keep an eye on Sophia's e-mail. So if you send us an e-mail, you will probably get a reply from me! Twice a month I send around a newsletter, which contains all Sophia's activities. I hope to see many of you at some of them!

Love,

Walt

Walt

Hi everyone!

My name is Robin Bakker and I’m the treasurer of Sophia Aeterna this year! I’m 21 years old, I’m from the not-very-far-away-but-still-I’m-looking-for-a-room Delft, and I’m a third year student of the bachelor Classics. Besides Greek and Latin, I also take classes from Linguistics and Italian, and I work as a student assistant.
When I’m not reading Greek (or maybe some Latin sometimes), I enjoy reading other books, trying to learn languages, and taking analog photos, which I develop myself if I can. Besides that, I also love making music, and I occasionally write songs with my band.

As treasurer, I make sure that the association’s finances are all in order. I make a budget and realisation, collect receipts, and pay for all the first drinks. I know exactly where all the association’s money comes from and where it goes, and am completely at home in the Excel sheet.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing everyone at the many activities, as well as in or around lectures, and you can always approach me when you see me walking around the campus!

Love,

Robin

Robin

Hi everyone!

My name is Amy Senne and this year I will be Sophia Aeterna’s assessor! I’m 19 years old and I’m from the beautiful Haarlem, but recently I am a proud resident of Leiden. With an incredible first year of the bachelor behind me, I’m very excited to start my second year! I love to keep myself busy, so you will probably catch me powerwalking through the Lipsius building. I usually get my moments of relaxation by making a chat with a good cup of tea next to me- so please don’t hesitate to talk to me!

As Sophia’s assessor I have a lot of different tasks. For one, I make sure everything goes well with our hardworking committees and I’m also available to help them where needed. I also keep in touch with other associations to organize some fun collaborations.
In addition to that, I also make sure the study books that have been ordered via Athenaeum are all in order. Last but certainly not least, I will help my fellow board-members where needed. There will certainly be enough to do for me this year!

I am looking forward to seeing you at all our fun activities this year!

Much love,

Amy

Amy