A chaotic, but warm nest

“Family and friends, that's what I find important in life. And to be yourself, to be able to do your thing. I find that here, at the VUB. Everyone is themselves here, and that’s allowed and accepted, and I don't think that's the case everywhere. For example, I have studied Sports and Exercise in Turnhout, but that turned out not to be my thing. Then I came to an info day here, looking for the right course of study, and the atmosphere and the warmth immediately appealed to me. I’ve found myself again at the VUB. I also like the campus, because it's a kind of public park; a chaotic, but warm nest. I think my best experience were those first weeks of lessons in the first year. There are very few of us in Art and Archaeology, and everyone started from scratch and had to get to know each other; as a class we really formed one group. That was fantastic. I don't know how much longer I'll be here. I'm going to finish my studies, and then maybe I'll get a doctorate. In that case, I will absolutely stay at the VUB.”

On the occasion of the VUB’s 50th anniversary, prof. dr. Martina Temmerman asked the students in her introductory course on journalism genres to make portraits of people on the VUB campus. The ‘snapshots’ resulting from the project Humans of the VUB offer a lovely cross section of life on our university campus in 2019/20.