My name is Joël Baas, I am 22 years old and since 1 August employed at Driestar Christian University. I was also at Driestar the three years before I started working here. In July 2023 I graduated from the teacher training programme. I currently work four days a week for the International Office and one day for the teacher training as project staff. I really enjoy it!
I was born on 4 December 2001 in a hospital in stunning Dordrecht. I grew up in Nieuw-Lekkerland, a beautiful village in the countryside, where I live to this day. I am the second of seven children of which the first five are boys. After all those boys our family was blessed with two wonderful sisters. My eldest brother is married and has two children.
As you can imagine, it was (and is) a lively affair at our house. To our great sadness, my father passed away in 2018; this left a deep impression on me and us as a family. Despite the grief and questions, we were able to experience God’s strength and help in the time following my father’s passing.
As a child, I spent much of my time running after a ball and it is a hobby I enjoy to this day. I also enjoy playing musical instruments. I like playing the organ, guitar or ukulele. Not everyone always appreciates that, to be fair. At home, when I pull out all the stops when playing a psalm or hymn, I am often thrown the question of when I will ever buy myself some headphones. So far, that has not had the desired result for them. I also enjoy reading books, but not as often as I would like. Perhaps you recognise that. Besides these hobbies, I enjoy being a camp leader on holidays with the youth club and organising fun activities at a holiday park.
With several uncles and aunties working in education and a father who was a headteacher for as long as I knew him, choosing to train as a teacher seemed a natural choice for me. I had a great time studying at Driestar, with the absolute highlight being the international project week in Guatemala during my final year. That was also the time when I first heard about the vacancy at Driestar’s International Office. Working on internationalisation (and everything that entails), facilitating international experiences for students and the nice working environment at Driestar were the things that persuaded me to apply for the role. I have had the pleasure of working at Driestar for several months now.
I would like to get to know you better as international partners, institutes and colleagues abroad, looking forward to future encounters.
