Mayuni Fernández Reyes

Hello everyone, I am Mayuni and I am a second year bachelor student in the World Archaeology track. I would like to be part of the Education Committee of Archaeology, because I would be delighted to convert students’ critique into substantial change. Although the educational programmes within archaeology have many strengths, my peers and I have noticed several points of improvement within the courses that we have followed last year. Therefore I am peckish for voicing out the students’ concerns about the educational programmes in the upcoming year.

I would be able to succeed in this position, because I am an attentive and empathic listener and I can come up with creative solutions for educational problems. In addition, I believe that my experience with helping out prospective students during the Open Days and the introduction week will be advantageous for a student position in the Education Committee, because through this experience I learned to be more responsible and articulate.

In conclusion, I would love to put in the effort to strive for a more productive and efficient educational environment for all archaeology students.

Nick Hermanns

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nick Hermanns, I am a first year bachelors student of Archaeology (2025 - 2026), and I am 21 years old. In the previous school year (2024 - 2025) I studied Archeologie at Hogeschool Saxion in Deventer. There are 2 reasons why I think this would be beneficial for the Education Committee Archaeology in Leiden.

• I have experience in the field of archaeology. This will help with practical matters and courses here at Leiden University.
• This experience (theoretical as well) comes from a different university, providing a fresh perspective of how things are done here.

I would like to get more responsibility within the academic world. This is why I came to Leiden, for starters I believe this will be possible through being part of the Education Committee Archaeology.

I thank you for your attention.

Arvid Huijsmans

My interest in joining the education committee (EC) stems from the fact that I have already served as an EC student member at an earlier study of Archaeology at Saxion for two years which was something I thoroughly enjoyed and always did with much enthusiasm. I felt that through participating in the EC I gained a better understanding of my study which allowed me to see where and how my study could be improved. Since I have already served as an EC member, I understand the goals and tools an EC has, to achieve these goals which, I feel like, would help me integrate very quickly and hit the ground running. Furthermore, I am interested in making sure the quality of education at this study is the best it can be, not just for me, but also for the other students. I find that the best outcome is that due to a proactive stance and a critical view of the study not just the students can achieve their best potential but so too can the educators. So, if I end up being chosen, I will always strive to achieve this outcome. 

Sinjo Kautz

My name is Sinjo Kautz, a first year bachelors student. I believe I can make a difference in the Education Committee, here’s why:

I have done a lot of similar things at my past schools. For example, during my time at high school I took part in organising events, attended GSA meetings (gender-sexuality alliance) to discuss a LGBTQ-friendly school, and even raised awareness for mental health (I even got them to implement a new policy, super proud of that one). My previous experience makes me well equipped for the EC.

I take great pride in studying here in Leiden. I love the little community we have, and would like to, in my own way, give back to everyone here! Pride never foregoes honesty though, so I’ll keep discussing ways to make studying archaeology better for everyone!

I like pushing myself! I’ve worked my way up all the way to uni, which, if you know my circumstances, was no easy feat. I’ve always done extracurricular work and would like to work even harder to learn and grow as a person!

I hope to make a change as part of the EC, but also as a student!

Nienke Pfannenmüller

Hey everyone! My name is Nienke, I’m a fifth year BA student due to start the MA in February. I enjoy having my hands in the soil and sharing my enthusiasm for archaeology with anyone who will listen. I’m running for a seat on the Education Committee because I want to make sure that every student can take as much knowledge, skills and opportunities from their time here as they want. Throughout my years at the Faculty I have loved and valued the great education that we receive, but have also been victim of courses with 48 separate deadlines, an incomprehensible syllabus and a group presentation that counts for 90% of your final grade. To make sure that our education is the best that it can be, I would critically review the education programme, speak up against issues that students face, and make sure that we won’t lose the things in our program that we enjoy and already work well

Athos Voutsakis

Hello, I'm Athos! I’m a third-year World Archaeology student, and I am interested in representing our Bachelor's students on this year’s Education Committee. Ordinarily, I have very wordy course evaluations, but now, seeing the intense changes our faculty is undergoing, I would like to make a more substantial contribution. I hope to connect to the wider student body (commuter and Leiden-based, Dutch and international, Heritage and World Arch--ALL of it!), and find solutions to keep our quality of education and quality of life high, despite inflating numbers of students and dwindling funds. I am especially passionate about maintaining the B.A.'s practical components, bringing more worldwide perspectives into our curriculum, and clarifying an independent faculty standard on the use of generative LLMs. I'm not afraid to look for creative solutions (even outside our own faculty!), and feel that more decisions and processes can be made available to the student body. As a student, I have also been involved with the Culture Change process and L.A.S. Terra, and hope to draw on these experiences to both inform my perspective and keep a productive, solution-oriented focus to my ideas that serves our education and our community first.

Calista Blanchard

In my second year at Leiden as an MA student, I approach the programme from a unique perspective: that of the international, older student who has obtained their bachelor's elsewhere, while also having completed a number of Leiden undergraduate courses through the pre-Master's. I like to think this gives me a well-rounded perspective on the BA and MA experience, and, having been previously employed as a University admin assistant, I've also seen just how important it is to promote communication and transparency between students and staff. It's that experience on both sides of the border that'll help me make the most informed arguments and suggestions for education improvement in our faculty. We all need a student advocate, and I hope to be one of the four that will make your thoughts heard!

Cecile Born

Hello, my name is Cecile Born, and I would love to join the Education Committee and be given the opportunity to help review and improve upon the curriculum of the archaeology programmes of Leiden University! I am currently an MA student in the Global Archaeology track, which I started in February of 2025. I also followed the BA World Archaeology program in Leiden from September of 2021 to December of 2024.

I would like to join this committee because I believe that the voice of the student body is what makes or breaks an education. Without the students, there is no education, which is why it is so important to make sure our opinions are represented within the faculty! I’m a reliable worker, a team-player and a creative problem-solver, and I would love to be able to represent our student body, and make sure every voice is heard. I believe that studying should be accessible and enjoyable for every student, and would love to be able to help with improving upon our faculty’s current abilities to make this a reality for our current and future students.

Koen Onderwater

Hi! I’m Koen Onderwater, 22 years old and currently doing the Archaeology Science master here at Leiden University. Having done my bachelor in archaeology at the same faculty, I have personally experienced both the ups and downs of the archaeology programs at Leiden. One of my fields of interest within archaeology lies in science communication, so when I heard about the educational Committee I immediately thought it would be a perfect change to implement what I learned in theory into practice. Within the education committee I want to facilitate a more direct link between students and the Faculty Council; develop a two way street when it comes to communication of complaints, changes and feedback concerning all available courses at our faculty. 

Emanuele Rocchetti

A bit about me: My name is Emanuele. I am a first-year research master student from Italy and would love the chance to become one of the Student Members on the Education Committee.

You may know me from L.A.S. Terra, where I spent two years first as treasurer and then as assessor of Abya Yala. Thanks to my time in Terra, I already have some experience taking part in faculty meetings and engaging with a variety of opinions about the faculty. Furthermore, I am currently the student mentor for the pre-master and exchange groups and would also be able to offer the Education Committee some of their perspectives related to their unique position within the faculty.

I am running for the position because I enjoy engaging with the didactics of teaching at an academic level, and would like to become more involved with educational aspects of academia. Both my choices to follow the research master and to become a student mentor are connected to this, since they were in part motivated by the offered chance to engage with teaching a class and with being a confidential figure for students (via the teaching assistance course in the RMA and the student mentor meeting hours).