XLIInd Board
President
Hello my friends,
My name is Annabelle and I am the 42nd President of SPIL! I am 20 years old and half American, half Dutch (or as my mom likes to say “100 percent of both”). I live in the beautiful town of Leiden, where you can find me in cafés like Bagels&Beans, Roos or VoorafEnToe drinking a dirty chai with oat milk. I mostly hang out in cafés with friends, but this year I expect to also be in good company of my laptop, while working on SPIL stuff. Being on the board of SPIL will take up a lot of my week, which is why I have decided to finish IRO in my fourth year and rather do some electives this year.
Besides spending time on SPIL and Uni, I work at a local bistro and a museum, which I both very much enjoy doing. In my free time I like going to the movies (with my buddy the Cinevill pass), singing and playing instruments, and making jewelry while blasting my favorite cd’s. To get off my butt, after a day full of meetings and work, I’ll go to my dance classes. Dancing is something I very much enjoy doing- also outside of the dance studio (aka bars/clubs).
I am very much looking forward to new people this year and making new friends. So please come see me in the common room (Leiden and The Hague) or at all our SPIL activities!
Much love and kusjes, Annabelle
Contact: president@spilplaats.nl
Secretary
Dear SPILers,
My name is Robin and I am a 20-year-old Political Science student. Many of you may know me as the tall blonde guy, but I am so much more than that. I am an addict to politics (obviously), love listening to music, and enjoy drinking beers with friends. I love being in touch with members, and you’ll hear a lot from me next year in the form of a never-ending stream of emails :).
Since my first day at Uni, I felt at home within this beautiful association. I have been part of various committees and love spending time in the common room. I hope I can exemplify how much SPIL has to offer next year. The educational activities are a great way to fulfill your never-ending interest in politics, and the borrels and parties are the best way to forget about all of that. SPIL has made my life as a student so much better, and I can’t wait to share more amazing moments with you guys!
Contact: secretary@spilplaats.nl
Treasurer
Hi SPILers!
My name is Lara Akande, I’m 20 years old and born and raised in a city in the southern part of the Netherlands called Tilburg. This year I’ll be heading into my 3rd year of IRO, and I’m going to follow the minor criminologie to expand my knowledge on the process of crime.
I started off my student life in the middle of a pandemic, with no physical classes and once-a-week workgroups with 1.5 meter distance. Despite this I wanted to make the best out of my time at university, so I decided to become an active member at our study association SPIL. In my first year I was the treasurer of the first year committee and part of the promotion committee as well. In my second year I got the amazing opportunity to be part of the Lustrum committee to organise the postponed 40 year anniversary of SPIL. Together with my committee we organised an amazing week full with activities and ended it with a fancy gala at Kurhaus!
I enjoyed last year so much, I wanted to take it a step further and here I am part of the 42nd board! This year I’ll be the treasurer of our beautiful association, and I’ll be in charge of keeping SPIL financially healthy.
Apart from SPIL I enjoy chatting and hanging out with friends, baking, playing the piano and reading books.
I hope to see you at some of our activities, and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to shoot me a message!
Contact: treasurer@spilplaats.nl
Commissioner Education and Politics
Hi! My name is Elena van der Klok and I’m a fourth year International Politics student. I’m Dutch, American and Chinese. Besides that, I grew up in Rotterdam. This academic year, I’m following a minor called ‘Ethics, Politics, and Culture: philosophy of human action.’ And although this minor is part of humanities studies, I still have a great love for political science. That’s why I decided to apply for the position of Commissioner Education & Politics of the 42nd board. This means that I will be overseeing the education committee, excursions committee and the masters activities committee. Besides that, I will be in charge of the book sale. Thus, all formal activities will be organized by me. However, I will also be taking part in an informal committee, this is the interfaculty party committee.
I’m very excited for this upcoming year and I hope to see you guys at both formal and informal activities!
Contact: educationpolitics@spilplaats.nl
Commissioner Global Relations
Hey SPILers !
My name is Anna, I am 20 years old, and I am from Budapest, Hungary. However, I lived more than half of my life in Belgium and the UK, and I am planning to move to Portugal as soon as I can.
I got involved in SPIL last year, and did 3 committees including the Festive, DEBAT and Long-Trip. After, our amazing trip to Thailand, I decided that I would love to oversee all the trips committees. As you might think, travelling is my biggest passion and buying Flixbus or airplane tickets is my therapy.
This year is my second year in IRO, and despite of the fact that I am not really interested in research, politics is close to my heart. I enjoy debating about international security and sustainability, but the closest topic to my heart is international humanitarian law and human rights.
In my free-time, I love doing sports, especially horse riding, which explains my endless love to animals and obsession with unicorns. Further, I love going out if it involves a few tequila shots.
I am very excited for this year and for all the amazing adventure that we are going to have together.
Contact: globalrelations@spilplaats.nl
Commissioner Internal Relations
Lovely members of SPIL,
My name is Marvin Lamers, a 20-year old student from Roosendaal (of all places). I would describe myself as an insanely busy person. Keeping track of all the football matches, especially of the upcoming world championship, isn’t easy. Thereby, following politics is one of my hobbies, as doing activities with friends is another.
This year, I will be the Commissioner of Internal Relations, something I am really excited about! I see this as a great opportunity to get to know the world of journalism. I want to be a journalist one day, as I am very passionate about news. My NOS-Teletekst addiction emphasizes this. Also, I like everything related to geography. Lastly, I am a real pub quiz-lover, which entails the making and the taking of quizzes.
The one thing I struggle with is multitasking. For example, I do have problems with both watching football and writing an interesting piece for you guys. It would make me immensely happy to improve this skill.
At last, I want to say that I am really looking forward meeting all of you next year. I am currently keeping my thumbs up for a covid-free year, and will not put them down before the end of the second semester.
Contact: internalrelations@spilplaats.nl
Commissioner External Relations
Hiya SPILers,
I am Margot, I am 21 years old and the upcoming year I am Commissioner External Relations. My nationality is American and Dutch, and I have been living in the Netherlands for 16 years now.
Right now I am in my fourth year of International Politics, so I am finishing up my bachelors degree this year! After this I plan on doing a masters that looks at political history, because I am a huge history nerd.
Other than that, I live in Leiden with 8 roommates and a cat called Adtlas. I always say that talking is my favourite hobby, so if you ever want to chat you should come by the common room! You will find me sitting there with a cup of coffee (no, really, I am not addicted…) and probably working on a social media post.
My real hobbies are going to art history museums and concerts. I am surprisingly not very into having political discussion, but I am always ready to have discussions about music and art.
I am looking forward to getting to know all SPIL members and having a great year!
Contact: externalrelations@spilplaats.nl