Whether he could write a review...

At the close of the third and final conversation he wanted to ask me something. It made me curious. ‘He had benefited so much from our conversations’, he said, ‘whether he could write a review, so that it might lower the threshold for other students’. It touched me so much. Read on here for Jurjen Daemen's message.

Review

As part of a new student initiative by the NOBCO in collaboration with the ArtEZ conservatory, I had the opportunity to enter into three conversations with Valérie Docters van Leeuwen. The reason being to work out how I could wind down my career as a ‘long term student’, work towards a career, and bring structure to the road there.

Even though going to talk to an external coach to indicate that things are not going as wished or expected is quite a step, at least that is how it felt at first, I can only conclude that this has been a pleasant and necessary experience for me. By making things, and thus above all your own person, open to discussion, you can actually arrive at (more) concrete insights about yourself and the way you have been making your way through life so far. Valérie facilitates this in a very pleasant and accessible way, which actually makes you want to talk openly about the difficulties you have. Thanks to the ease with which the conversations flow, there even arises a sense of relief and perhaps even joy at being able to speak about your own personal matters in such a relaxed way.

For that I am incredibly grateful to Valérie, and I hope that more people dare to take this step of making personal things open to discussion. I would also like to give credit to the initiative between the NOBCO and ArtEZ, because they make a case for students who, vulnerable as they are at the start of their career, often cannot cope with all the expectations and pressure and therefore do not dare to express themselves. There is no shame in daring to speak out about the things you struggle with. A coach is a welcome conversation partner in this!

Thanks again for the lovely conversations!

Kind regards,

Jurjen Daemen

How it came about

The conversations came about on the basis of a unique student initiative between universities of applied sciences and the professional association for Professional Coaches (NOBCO). The reason was the vacuum many students ended up in over the past two years. Little to no personal contact with fellow students and online education. When I saw the call, I immediately signed up to take part. The basis is three conversations for a very small fee. Several students approached me, including Jurjen Daemen. NOBCO student campaign in collaboration with universities of applied sciences.