Toespraak

Hieronder de opzet van de 3 minuten durende toespraak die ik afgelopen zaterdag voor de Alumni-klas van 1953 (mensen die 55 jaar geleden geslaagd zijn!) heb gehouden. Het was echt super leuk! Oude mensen zijn heel vriendelijk en geinteresseerd, met name mensen uit het Zuiden (waar Virginia ongeveer deel van uitmaakt) staan bekend om hun vriendelijkheid. Ze vonden het school/universiteitssysteem in Nederland overigens fascinerend, en er was iemand die een geweldige Andre Rieu fan was (hij had de DVD live in Maastricht), en nog een aantal die Nederland bezocht hadden. Een man adviseerde me, omdat ik volgens hem zo goed sprak, een carriere als dominee te overwegen! Dat vond ik wel een mooi compliment. Het diner in het alumni center was overigens werkelijk uitstekend.

De toespraak:

Class of 1953,

First, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your presence. On behalf of the student body I can say that we all very much appreciate seeing you here. Even though there is a great wide world outside this campus, this gathering shows us that the bonds formed during our college period can and will remain strong as we represent the Spiders in our later life.

I myself chose to be a part of this community more than a year ago, and it has certainly been one of the most interesting, challenging and rewarding choices in my life. Starting when I was young, America has always been present in my life in the Netherlands. Whether it is the Hollywood film industry or CNN on television, Michael Jackson and Madonna in the hit lists or the liberation from World War II in history and memory, the United States keeps presenting itself in a global context as the world’s super power. And it was exactly this that sparked my interest in this country: I wanted to experience living in this society.

And so I came to the University of Richmond, and I cannot think of many places that would give me a better insight in American life and culture. Located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are in a state that encompasses an incredible amount of American history as well as a modern and open identity. Virginia is a warm and welcoming state with much to offer, and that is very useful to people from other countries.

The College itself offers, besides excellent liberal arts education and wonderful facilities, a whole different experience than European universities. For one thing, most of us live her together in dorms. Having your fellow students around you gives the university spirit and an active social life, as opposed to Europe, where many universities consist of grey and bleak buildings which you only visit to study. The importance of building communities at this age cannot be underestimated.

During this last year, I have encountered many occasions on which I could remember the American students how full of opportunities their life on this campus is, and how different other places in the world are. I think this is one of the most important responsibilities for international students.

The last thing I want to mention is the important role of Spider Sports. There is no such concept as college sports on the European continent, and they really miss out there. I think it is a fantastic way to develop yourself, have fun, create school spirit and contribute to your college, for the athletes and for the students. The school spirit and contributing to the UofR is what connects us all here today. It is what I hope to do in the future, so that this great university will remain a warm welcoming place for future generations from all around the world.

Thank you.