The beau monde of UT’s active student community gathered in the Bastille atrium on Thursday evening. The venue was packed, primarily with nominees, alongside friends, fellow association members, and, providing a contrast to the jacket-and-tie student crowd, a handful of proud parents.
Inspiring others
The More Than a Degree Awards have long been a Student Union tradition. The event recognises students who enrich life beyond the lecture hall. It also serves as an incentive to encourage more students to get involved, as Student Union board member Simone van den Heuvel explained. ‘You have the crucial task of inspiring others to achieve more than a degree.’
Students competed in six categories: Most Active Student, Best Full-Time Board, Best Part-Time Board, Best Event, Best Sports or Cultural Achievement, and Most Enterprising Initiative. Public votes decided the outcome, together with the the jury, consisting of former Teacher of the Year Janneke Alers, Head of Culture Evelien Bril, and former Student Union president Koen Hasperhoven.
Comeback stories
It proved to be an evening of comeback stories, particularly among the winners of the board awards. The Batavierenrace Committee was named Best Full-Time Board after successfully restoring the Batavierenrace to its former scale following a year in which only an alternative version could be organised on campus.
Drienerlose Windsurf Vereniging Hardboard received the award for Best Part-Time Board. Just six days after its 39th board took office, equipment worth €60,000 was stolen. When the insurer refused to provide compensation, the board launched a crowdfunding campaign.
Yvar Schukken, a competitive rower with D.R.V. Euros, won the award for Best Sports or Cultural Achievement. Alongside completing two master’s programmes, he finished third at the Dutch National Rowing Championships in his age category. Student team HyDriven was named Most Enterprising Initiative, while Best Event went to The Basement Project, a rave organised by the Horst cellar study associations.
‘I find it hard to say no’
Lars Kruitwagen, a bachelor’s student in Technical Computer Science, was crowned Most Active Student of the Year ahead of fellow nominees Darius Luca and Melissa van der Pol. ‘I was a little nervous today,’ he said after the ceremony. ‘Of course it’s great to win this award, but that’s not why you do it.’
Kruitwagen’s record of extracurricular involvement is extensive. He serves as a technical crew member for the Kick-In, the Batavierenrace, and the former Summer Sounds festival. He is also a member of the financial audit committees of five associations, recently completed a term on the board of study association Inter-Actief, and has been chair of the EEMCS Faculty Council since April.
What drives him? ‘I find it very hard to say no,’ Kruitwagen jokes. ‘Especially when you’re surrounded by so many great people. There’s always time to work later.’ He quickly revises that statement. ‘Although perhaps it’s finally time to finish my bachelor’s degree.’
The nominees for most active student on stage. On the left: Lars Kruitwagen.
