“I've always been the well-being girl”

March 8, 2021

More than ever, the well-being of students is under pressure. Naomie Amsing stepped into the breach for her fellow students and set up the Student Wellbeing Network.

Naomie Amsing. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke
Naomie Amsing. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke

When it comes to the well-being of students, Naomie Amsing knows what she is talking about. This master's student of Biomedical Engineering has herself struggled with mental health problems, but now she is championing the mental health of her fellow students. In order to make a real difference, last year she set up the Student Wellbeing Network, entirely in keeping with her own credo ‘if you think something needs doing, why not do it yourself?’ 

If there was ever a time when the well-being of students was under pressure, that time is now, in the midst of the corona pandemic. Since March 13th 2020 the vast majority of them have rarely set foot on our campus. The lives of many students are in stasis, pending the relaxation of the measures holding their student life hostage. Awaiting the day when they can again roam around the campus, attend lectures in person, go off and play sport afterwards, have a drink with study friends. In short, really be a student. “Everyone is frustrated and fed up with the situation, but there is nothing anyone can do about it. Like others, I sometimes feel lonely, have too much work, too little contact with people, and a head full of worries about us all, including myself. The future isn't looking hopeful for us,” says Naomie Amsing. And this can trigger mental health problems, as she knows from experience. 

This is precisely the area in which she wants to help her fellow students. In all the time she played an active role in the student political group Groep-één, student well-being was her thing. “I simply care about the people around us. When they don't feel good, we can't draw the best out of them. I want to show them that they are more than their problems. If students are to complete their programs successfully, it is incredibly important that they settle in properly when they arrive. Every day it's on my mind that a lot of students are struggling; what can I do to help?”  

A lot of students are struggling; what can I do to help?

She herself struggled in her youth with her mental and emotional health, and now and then doubt still gets the better of her. She is disarmingly honest about her immensely strong drive to improve things and to help people, and about her tendency to go beyond her own limits, repeatedly. “I feel a huge responsibility for everything I'm involved in. Sometimes I allow myself to get so carried away that I push myself beyond what's good for me.”   

Naomie Amsing. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke
Naomie Amsing. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke

After she had worked with Groep-één's well-being team to set up various activities related to the theme of student well-being, Amsing decided this was not enough, “Just organizing activities does not solve the problem, we have to do more.” And so she picked up the gauntlet and set about bringing together all the parties working on well-being at TU/e. So that together they can consider how to tackle the problems. And so SWeN was born, and there at its cradle were all the student federations for sport, culture and spirituality, as well as the social associations and study associations, and even the sports center, Studium Generale, community café Hubble, community manager Erik de Jong, ESA and the student political parties.  

Try again, try harder! Because everyone wants a feeling of connection

“SWeN is all about putting people in touch with one another, forging connections. During a recent meeting someone said that it was impossible to make contact with the internationals in his student flat. Which prompted someone else to say, ‘Try again, and try harder,’ because everyone wants a feeling of connection, but perhaps you need to take a different tack. Don't just approach everything from your own cultural perspective. For some people, an alcoholic drinks party, for instance, is an unappealing prospect. This gets people thinking about inclusivity. The fact that people are challenging each other on points like this feels for me like a triumph.” 

Questioned about what she is most proud of, she says the appointment of Lara Hofstra as student diversity officer. Well-being falls within the remit of Hofstra's role, and now she has also taken over the running of SWeN from Amsing. “I have started my internship and afterwards I'll be graduating. Next year I won't be here; Lara is going to carry on what I have started. She is going to do everything she can to help students.” 

Of course, this isn't all that SWeN and its members have achieved. Amsing sums up, “TINT carried out a study of loneliness among students; we took the initiative to set up the summer and winter universities, which involved students organizing all kinds of on-campus activities for those students who couldn't get home. Training sessions will be run for confidential counselors working within associations, and we help think about Intro Week for first-years and the best reception we can give them.”  

The ultimate solution to students' problems is not something Amsing has. “No one wants people to be having burn-outs or bouts of depression, so why do we have so many in our society? We are trying to find solutions, but actually we should be looking at why we have this problem in the first place. This issue is such a challenge, and I don't have the answer either, but every day I do my best to tackle it. What we're doing is not yet perfect, but we won't give up!” 

About leadership

Achieving our strategic goals requires leadership. From managers, from teams and from everyone personally. Within the theme of Resilience, we are therefore investing added energy in leadership. Transparency, trust, talent and team are the four most important themes powering good leadership at TU/e. Good leaders work with their team to build a resilient and excellent university where talent can flourish. This requires employees with a passion for education, science, technology and for each other. It requires managers keen to help shape the changes taking place and who recognize and encourage talent within their team - so that the best is drawn out of everyone. It requires leaders who inspire trust and create a safe and open work environment. Together we make this university, by working on our personal development and drawing the best out of ourselves and each other. In 2021 we will establish our vision of leadership and put it into practice.

Brigit Span
(Corporate Storyteller)

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