(Board) life goes on
Corona. Not a day passes without hearing or reading about it. Since the beginning of March, it has been the number one topic for conversation: on the news, among families, among colleagues, and among friends. Even when checking out at the grocery store, odds are that the customer in front of you has just been talking about it with the cashier. To keep this line of thought, I think you can guess what this article is about. Exactly, Corona. text by: Ricardo van Belzen
On us, the board of Asset | Econometrics, the infamous virus has had a huge impact, just like on everyone in our society. For us, meeting people has been the main occupation of nearly every day, and we cannot do this any longer. Now, an average day is way different from what it used to be. I still remember a week in February, when I went from our board weekend in Maastricht back to Tilburg, a few days later to the LED in Nieuwegein, and in the weekend to Leiden for work. After this busy week, we had our Europe Trip to Ljubljana. In other words, we have been swarming all over the place. In the past months, this has become impossible. An average week in April for me would be in Middelburg solely, with my family, where the most exciting thing to do would be watching things like ‘Erica op Reis’, to learn about places we cannot visit anyway. However, I do want to make the disclaimer that I do not really have the right to complain. Me and the people around me are still in good health, and I have the biggest faith in our government that they can deal with the virus in the best way possible. But still, the difference in lifestyle is dramatic.
Now, a typical working day starts with a virtual meeting with the board. Since we do not see each other any more in real life, we do this so we are updated on what we are working on. Sometimes we have important things to discuss. Especially after a government press conference with new dates and new rules. The day after we would start looking at which events were canceled, and make a plan for the coming weeks. Fortunately, some morning meetings are just chatting. For example, the cat of our chairman, Denise, has just had three kittens, which she absolutely loves to tell about. Since we hear about them almost every day, we know everything there is to know about them. To some of the board, this is a bigger joy than to others. So if you, while reading this, are also interested in Denise’s new pets, send her a text message! She would love to tell you more about it!
Even though there are no real life events, the association has to keep running. Therefore, we still have work to do. There are still (online) committee meetings to organize events in the new academic year. Additionally, acquisition still has to be done, there are still meetings with the university to improve the quality of education, and obviously, a new board has to be there next year. Lastly, there are still active members who celebrate their birthday. And how can they celebrate such a day without a beautiful Astrics’ birthday card?
It goes without saying that this period comes with challenges. However, though it may be difficult, we still try to do our best to look for solutions, instead of focusing on problems. Together with our members, we try to find a way. And if there is no path in front of us, we try to make one. Together. Our mission is to help students throughout their studies: by providing study support, bringing them in contact with each other and by bringing them in contact with companies. No pandemic changes this. No pandemic can change our goal of helping students. No pandemic can change Asset | Econometrics.
