Rosemarijn Sterk wins prize for highest first-year average
Second-year Law student Rosemarijn Sterk achieved the highest average mark for her foundation year (2024–2025). Her average mark of 9.2 was the highest of all first-year students at our faculty. As a result, Rosemarijn was awarded a cash prize of €150 from the Legatum Böckelmanianum fund.
During the interview with Rosemarijn, Assessor Roel Kwast dropped by to present her with the cheque. We asked her about her experiences as a student in Leiden and what her secret is to achieving such excellent marks.
You finished your first year with an impressive set of marks. How do you look back on that?
I really enjoyed my first year. Compared to secondary school, you've got a lot more freedom as a student and you're focused on a subject area that really interests you. That definitely makes it far more enjoyable.
What made you choose Leiden?
I briefly considered Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but in the end I chose Leiden. Mainly because of the atmosphere in the city and the positive impression I got during the Open Day. The Law programme here also has a good reputation. Looking back, I’m very happy with my choice. I soon felt at home on the programme and things went well for me. You get good supervision from teaching staff which helps you settle in fast.
Did the programme meet your expectations?
The Law programme didn’t just meet my expectations, it exceeded them! People often have preconceived ideas: that it’s difficult or boring, and that all you do is read endless texts. But that wasn't the case for me. In the courses I found interesting, the law really came to life.
Do you have any suggestions for improving the programme?
At the start, I found some courses a bit superficial. For example, we had lectures that mainly focused on lists of information you had to memorise or look up in the statute book. In the tutorials, you'd then apply that knowledge to a few fairly simple exercises. In some courses, I would’ve liked to delve a bit deeper into the topics and link them more to current affairs. That did happen in many courses, but some topics could still be explored in more depth.
Do you already have a favourite area of law?
So far, I find constitutional law really interesting. I took the course Beginselen van de democratische rechtstaat with Gert Jan Geertjes, and it really appealed to me. I also enjoyed Inleiding Strafrecht. In that course, we had to find and apply the relevant legal provisions ourselves during tutorials, which made it feel like we were already engaging with legal practice.
Do you already have an idea of the direction you’d like to take after your studies?
At secondary school, I always thought I wanted to become a lawyer. But now, a role at the Public Prosecution Service sounds appealing. During a court visit last year, I was really impressed by a trainee public prosecutor. So at the moment, I’d say my dream job is to become a Public Prosecutor – although I know a lot can still change in the coming years. For example, I haven’t yet had the chance to visit a major law firm.
Finally, what’s your secret to getting good marks?
Of course, everyone has their own way of studying. It took me some time to figure out what worked for me, but my biggest tip is: stay organised. I kept track of what I needed to do each week for each course, and also noted anything I’d missed. That way, I didn’t fall too far behind. Having that overview helped me plan better and avoid last-minute stress before exams. If you’ve already seen the material once – in a lecture or a tutorial – it just sticks with you much better. So for me, the key is staying organised and going over the materials several times.
Legatum Böckelmanianum
The Legatum Böckelmanianum is a fund that was once bequeathed by a 17th century professor, Johann Friedrich Böckelmann. In 1670, he was the first German legal scholar to become a professor in Leiden. He died in 1681 and left a large sum to the faculty from which we still reap the benefits today. Every year, a sum of €150 from the fund is awarded to the best first-year student with the highest average grade of all degree programmes at Leiden Law School in the previous academic year. Rosemarijn is the last student to receive this prize at our faculty as from this academic year onwards, no more first-year certificates will be issued.