Current board

Chair

Hi there! My name is Maud Weijers, I am 21 years old and I can proudly call myself the Chair of the 32^nd board of Babylon. I am currently in the fourth year of the IBC track of Communication- and Information Studies. I am following the Spanish track. Originally, I come from Valkenswaard, a village near Eindhoven in the beautiful province of Noord-Brabant. However, I have already been living in Nijmegen for a couple of years, and I absolutely fell in love with this city! Thanks to Babylon, I met a lot of new friends here and I love that you can (normally) party every night of the week in Nijmegen. That’s why I am not planning on leaving anytime soon!

In my first year, I was not an active member yet. However, I was present at a lot of Babylon activities. That is where I developed my love for Babylon. In the second year, I decided that I wanted to commit myself to our association. I joined the Committee of Informal Activities (CIA). Together with this committee, I organised a lot of fun borrels and activities. In the first semester of last year, I travelled to Málaga, Spain to study at the University of Málaga with the Erasmus programme. I had an absolutely amazing time there, and I would definitely recommend everyone to follow an Erasmus programme (if the regulations regarding COVID-19 allow you to do so, of course…)! In my third year, I joined the Orientation Week Committee to stay connected to the association. When I returned to Nijmegen, I became more and more sure that I wanted to do a board year at our lovely association!

As the Chair, I have the ultimate responsibility of Babylon. During this year, I will carry out the task of leading and coordination the board and the association. I hope that, with my enthusiasm and experiences, I can give as many CIS students as possible an unforgettable time with Babylon and in Nijmegen. You can always come to me for a quick talk, to have a laugh in the Babylon Room (E12.09) or for a serious conversation. Also, do not hesitate to talk to me during borrels or other activities, because I am always in for a chat! I am very excited for the upcoming year and I will do my very best to make it a fantastic year for everyone!

Cheers, Maud

Chair 2020 – 2021

Secretary

Hi! I’m Lieke Verhoofstad, 19 years old and currently, I am in my second year of Communication and Information Studies. I come from Haarsteeg, which is a small village near Den Bosch, in the beautiful Brabant. Last year, however, I decided to move to the almost as beautiful city of Nijmegen. Up until now, I enjoyed every second here in Nijmegen and am definitely not planning on leaving this city soon. This year, I will fulfil the position of Secretary in the 32^nd board of Babylon, and I am really excited for this.

Last year, I was a member of the Study Trip Committee of Babylon. We planned on visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg in May. Unfortunately, the trip could not take place, but I had a lot of fun with our committee and made many new friends. The family-feeling of Babylon only became bigger and bigger to me from then on and therefore, I decided to start a new challenge within Babylon. I signed-up for a board year and here I am.

For the past 9 years, I played football in my hometown. Last year, I decided to stop playing football, because it became too much to travel back home every week and I wanted to fully build my life in Nijmegen. Furthermore, I like swimming, going to the beach and drinking a cold beer on the terrace. During the Babylon Ski Trip last year, I also found out that I really like skiing and après skiing.

As the Secretary, I will be primarily responsible for all communications with members and for editing of the Babylon Magazine. I know for sure to have a great time with my fellow board members and will do everything to make it the best year possible for everyone.

Cheers, Lieke

Secretary 2020-2021

Treasurer

Hi, I’m Sam Helmink, I’m 20 years old, and I’m currently in my third year of Communication and Information Studies (Dutch track). I come from ‘s-Heerenberg, a small but beautiful place in the ‘Achterhoek’ in Gelderland. This year, I will be the Treasurer in the 32^nd Board of Babylon, which I’m very excited about.

In my first year being a student at the University of Nijmegen, I decided to become an active member of Babylon straight away. I was a part of the Sports Committee, which organises the annual Ski Trip amongst other things. I am very happy that I did that, since I got to know a lot of wonderful, fellow members. I really enjoyed being a member right from the start, and went to a lot of activities, such as the ‘borrels’, but also the annual Ski Trip, and various other activities. In my second year, I became an active member of Babylon again, this time in the Congress Committee. After those two years, I decided that I wanted to do a Board year, and here I am.

At the end of my first year, I was very much done with spending three hours a day travelling between Nijmegen and ‘s-Heerenberg. I got a room in Nijmegen, in which I live from Monday to Friday regularly. In the weekends, I often go back to my parents. Because I moved to Nijmegen, I had to stop with athletics. However, it didn’t take long before I started playing football for FC Babylon, which I enjoy playing very much as well. Together with about 20 other Babylonians, we play matches against teams of other studies. Besides playing some football, I also really enjoy going out with my friends.

As the Treasurer of Babylon, I will have the ultimate responsibility for the financial health of our study association. I’m sure that, together with my fellow board members and the members, we can make this a fantastic year! I’m looking forward to meeting you guys as soon as possible!

Greetings,

Sam Helmink

Treasurer 2020-2021

Commissioner of Internal Affairs

Hey there! I am Alyce Hoeben and I am 20 years old. I was born in Diepenheim, a little city in Twente near the German border. Currently, I have been living in Nijmegen for a year to get the best out of my life as a student and I really like it over here! I like the city and I love the people. I really like going out, having fun with friends and in the upcoming year I will start again with playing field hockey. I am honoured to call myself the Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the 32^nd board of Babylon.

I will start my second year of the C&O bachelor in a while. As the Commissioner of Internal Affairs, I will have the responsibility for the book sales, the contact with lecturers and professors and the contact between the educational program and the students. Besides this, I am the coordinator of the Committee of Formal Activities, the Education Committee and the Publication Committee. I will also become a member of the Program Committee to help improving the educational program.

After a very nice Orientation week, I felt very welcome to Babylon and decided to become an active member in my first year so I joined the Sports Committee, which was really fun. We organised a nice activity in the ‘Beachfabriek’ with different beach sports. Furthermore, we organised one of the most spectacular activities of the year, namely the Ski Trip. I will definitely recommend you to join an activity of Babylon because you get to know many new people and the activities are so much fun!

After a year full of meeting new fun people and experiencing nice activities, I decided to sign up for a board year to learn a lot of this experience and responsibility and to give all the members of Babylon a student life they will never forget! If you have any questions or want to have a chat with me or something else, don’t hesitate to start a talk with me 😉 !

Greetings,

Alyce Hoeben

Commissioner of Internal Affairs 2020-2021

Commissioner of External Affairs

Hey there! I am Renée Christophe and I am 21 years old. This year, I will be in my fourth year of the English track of our studies (IBC). Originally, I come from the beautiful city Den Bosch, but I have lived in Nijmegen for three years now. I absolutely love living here and I do not plan on leaving this beautiful city soon! In my spare time, I love being with my friends and going out. Besides that, I enjoy doing sports (sometimes), watching Netflix and drinking a beer in the sun. This year, I will be fulfilling the position of Commissioner of External Affairs of the 32^nd board of Babylon.

In my previous years at Babylon, I have been a member of several committees. The first committee I joined was the Committee of Informal Activities (CIA). As a member of this committee, you organise all the ‘borrels’ and other parties. During this year, I got to know a lot of people within Babylon which was amazing. Other than that, I have been a member of the Orientation Week Committee, which (as the name suggests) organises the Orientation Week. This was a really nice committee and helped me learn a lot. Lastly, I was part of the International Committee, which was a more formal committee and was really interesting. Being a member of these committees, I started loving being a part of Babylon more and more. Wanting to be even more active and responsible is the main reason why I decided to be a part of the 32^nd board.

As Commissioner of External Affairs, I will be responsible for all the communication towards the external relations of Babylon. These external relations are for example companies, agencies and sponsors. Besides that, together with my committees I will be organising the Career Event and the National Day of Communication. I’m really excited for this year and I will try my very best to make it a great year for everyone!

Renée Christophe

Commissioner of External Affairs 2020-2021

Commissioner of Activities

Hey! I am Marlon Gerrits, I am 21 years old and I am currently in my third year of the Bachelor Communication and Information studies. I come from a small town near Nijmegen called Bemmel, but I currently live in the middle of the beautiful city center of Nijmegen, as Nijmegen is (by far) the most beautiful city in the Netherlands. By living in the city center I can (literally) crawl home from the bars. This year, I will be the Commissioner of Activities.

Over the past years, Babylon became an important factor in my life. I have been an active member since my first year (after an unforgettable Orientation Week), when I joined the Committee of Informal Activities (CIA). In my second year, I not only became a mentor parent during the Orientation Week but also joined the Education Committee to mix my formal and informal experiences within the study association. Last year, my desire to become a board member barreled up and I therefore decided to go for it! Fortunately, my desire became reality when I was chosen to fulfill the position of Commissioner of Activities this year.

Since I was 4 years old, I started dancing as my hobby. I have been doing it until last year, when training 3 times a week and having competitions almost every week became too much to combine with my study and work. Now I am going to the gym (sometimes…). I work at a snack bar in Bemmel, which is rewarded with being the best snack bar of the Netherlands (I am not joking, this is for real). I have been working there for 5 years and still enjoy every minute of working there. And no, unfortunately, we do not deliver in Nijmegen ;).

As Commissioner of Activities, I am responsible for organising the monthly ‘borrels’, the Ski Trip, the Babylon Weekend, the Orientation Week and many more fun activities in the upcoming year. I think the position of Commissioner of Activities fits me perfectly, because I love to organise activities and I am always enthusiastic and energetic. I am really looking forward to the upcoming year and I hope to organize a lot of fun activities for you, and together with your help! See you!

Greetings,

Marlon Gerrits

Commissioner of Activities 2020-2021