Coincidence… exists. Everything is coincidence. You make choices, but you never know what comes next. Seemingly small decisions can have huge, unexpected effects. Take my parents. My mother is American, my father from Limburg. They met in a hostel in Buenos Aires. She was cycling through Argentina and he decided to tag along. Afterwards, he went back to the Netherlands, while my mother carried on travelling. Later, when she was flying to India and had a stopover in Amsterdam, she went to visit him in Geleen. And she never left. They like to say that if Tripadvisor had existed back then, the hostel would’ve had terrible reviews and neither of them would’ve stayed there – in which case my two younger sisters and I would never have been born.
When was the last time you cried? [Long pause] I don’t cry very often. I did when my American grandmother passed away in 2019. And after finishing my final exams in secondary school – I was completely drained.
"Maybe it would do me good to think more about the big questions – what am I doing here, and why?"
Limburger or American? Both. I was born in the Rocky Mountains, in Montana. I go back every summer, but I’ve never really lived there. George W. Bush was president at the time, and my mother wanted to leave, so my parents moved to Heerlen-Noord. They’re two separate worlds – when I’m in Limburg, I hardly ever talk to anyone in the US, and in the States it’s the other way round. At home, I mostly speak English with my mother and sisters, and Limburgish with my father. Dutch isn’t my first language, or even my second. But it was always the language in school, even though lots of children spoke Limburgish. It’s a pity, really, because sometimes I can’t quite get things across in Dutch the way I want to.
As a child, I was… quiet, fairly clever, curious. And shy, reserved. I always felt a bit different from classmates, partly because of my American background and because I didn’t have the same interests. I liked learning, and my parents bought me books on science, history, geography… that’s what I liked. Was I bullied? No, but I sometimes felt intimidated by classmates. Less so in secondary school, maybe because I went to a grammar school outside the neighbourhood. I felt more at home there – though there isn’t one place where I feel completely at home.
Do you ever pray or meditate? No, I’m not really into that sort of thing. My parents aren’t religious in an institutional sense; we never went to church. Maybe it would do me good to think more about the big questions – what am I doing here, and why? But I’m always busy, throwing myself into things, and I find it hard to pause and do nothing. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind a bit of peace and quiet. I tend to make life too busy for myself, and it takes its toll.
"People don't want to go the US because of the current government. I think that’s a shame, although I’m angry about the political situation too"
I’ve always been an activist. No, not until I came to Maastricht. I’d always been interested in politics, but I never thought I could actually do something about the things I disagreed with. I thought I was on my own. But the protests against budget cuts in higher education made me realise I wasn’t, and they made me see how much power there is in standing up together. That’s why I co-founded the new student union, MOSA.
Don’t miss out on this music. Sixties and seventies rock, bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival. I know them through my mother. When I was ten, we took a road trip across the US in a second-hand camper van. On the highway, smoke started coming from under her seat, and we broke down in a little town called Lodi. CCR has a song called Stuck in Lodi, which I thought was hilarious. Later, I listened to more of their music. They’ve got a distinctive sound I really like.
On my bucket list: travelling, especially around the US. It’s such a diverse country full of friendly people, different cultures and incredible landscapes I’d like to see more of. When I tell people I’m going there, they go, “Oof, really?” They think of the current government and don’t want to go because of that. I think that’s a shame, although I’m angry about the political situation too.
"Studies aren't unimportant, but university isn't where you learn most about life"
Which book do you like to reread? I haven’t really read books, especially novels, since secondary school. My girlfriend likes to read novels, but I just don’t see the appeal. I’m too impatient; it feels like a waste of time. I read plenty on my phone, especially for the student union, and for my studies, of course. UCM makes us read a lot, so I don’t do it for fun. I’d rather watch TV or listen to music.
Love is simple. Er… I always found it quite complicated, actually. Making friends at secondary school was hard enough, let alone talking to girls. My girlfriend came up to me at Carnival last year. She noticed me because I had long hair and a beard. We got together this year. She’s a year younger and still at school in Heerlen. It’s nice to have someone outside the whirlwind of university, politics and the student union. With her, I can switch off and just be.
The best advice you ever received. One of my grandmother’s sisters is a hippie, and she always says, “Drop out of school and start your life.” What I take from that is: we spend so much time worrying about school and our studies, but they’re not actually that important. They’re not unimportant, but university isn’t where you learn most about life.