‘I always practice the act a day before the gig’
Maikel ter Riet, psychology student, works as a DJ in his spare time. ‘At the moment I mostly perform at student association parties and birthdays. Recently I also got booked to perform at a high school in Oldenzaal. Nothing too extraordinary, but still pretty nice to get asked to perform in front of a crowd.’
Maikel is also busy following a music production study next to his psychology degree. ‘Sometimes it is pretty hectic. At times I started my day at 9 am in the morning and studied until 4 pm with only one hour break in between. Afterwards I would continue working on my music until 2 am at night. The days are long but after studying for a while I am able to draw my motivation from doing something else: music production. At the end of the day I feel like I have been really productive,’ says Ter Riet.
A day in the life of a DJ consists of proper preparation. ‘Usually whenever I have to perform, I already start the day before. As a DJ it is important to prepare everything upfront and to have it all set and done before your performance begins. Actually I always practice the act a day before the gig. It makes me able to memorize what I want to do at the actual show.’
After completing his bachelor in Psychology he will completely focus on music production. ‘There is no job guarantee in music however, so that’s why I decided to study anyway. I will quit studying for a year or two to see how far I can go with producing music, because I think I can still improve a lot. I started producing music in the summer of 2017 and I have already learnt a lot, which keeps me motivated.’
‘Working as a social media influencer is all about interaction’
Anna Sommer, psychology student, is active as a social media influencer on Instagram. ‘It was more like a coincidence than a fixed plan. In 2015 I participated in a bikini-giveaway run by a famous German model. The day she announced my prize, I suddenly gained thousands of followers and decided to make use of it. Around that time I started posting more regularly and goal-directed, which led to a growth of followers.’
Life of a social media influencer is more than just sharing thoughts and posting nice pictures. ‘I use my postings on topics such as beauty, fashion, travel, lifestyle, etc. as a medium to promote content-related brands. Hereby, I get in touch with big brands. I create photographs to incorporate their products and share my thoughts on it with my audience. Working as a social media influencer is all about interaction. I am active on Instagram most of the day to comment, post, like, etc. in order to growth my reach,’ explains Sommer.
Although it seems like a nice side-kick, it also requires a lot of time and effort. ‘I have a hard time taking breaks from this job/hobby. Since I am surrounded by the internet 24/7, it is not easy for me to separate private life, university and ‘business’. I get tempted to check on my social media accounts especially when I feel bored at University or when I need a break from studying at home. As my reach is steadily growing, I get more invitations for very interesting events and trips but because studying Psychology consumes a lot of time, I have to cancel most of it.’ However, the future looks bright. ‘My main goal is to successfully finish my studies. Beside that I really hope to keep up the expectations I perceive from my followers and brands.’
‘You name it, we’ll make it’
Mechiel van Manen, student of Industrial Design, is the co-owner of a print shop together with his fellow roommates Sander Kollmann, Financial Engineering & Management student, and Cas de Koning, student of Financial Management. ‘We sell printed and embroidered clothes, textile, caps, mugs and notepads to students, but also to companies and sport associations. If the request has to do with printing or designing it should be possible. You name it, we’ll make it. We’re trying to do this in a way that the customer does not have to do a lot. We supply the test samples, create designs and make sure the sizing is alright. All of this is possible in a short-term period. Obviously this costs some money, but due to the fact that we are students as well we understand the financial struggle of a student, so we are trying to keep the prices as low as possible.’
But before they were a more general print shop, it started as a clothing brand. ‘Three years ago we started with our clothing brand Louter. Even though the revenue was decent, more and more people started asking for more specific things, such as their association’s logo on a Louter sweater. The print shop did even better and it was less risky for us, so in 2016 we decided to fully devote ourselves to the print shop.’
In the life of a printer, no day is exactly the same. ‘There are days where you print a logo on 50 mugs, but there are also days where you’re sacrificing the entire day to print 500 canvas bags. Once there is a request, we make sure to handle it immediately. We don’t really have standard times or moments during the week where we handle our requests. Fortunately our newest action is going pretty well, so we have a lot to do! It is a special offer where students can buy a polo, cap or swimming shorts with their logo printed on it for a set price!’ Even though students come and go, the future seems bright for the printers. ‘Once someone has finished his studies in Enschede, their tasks will be passed on to a different inhabitant of Huize Heilige Hubertus.’
‘We are a warm market baker’
Arjan Berkhoff, another psychology student, sells several products on the market in Vaassen. ‘We are as we call it, a warm market baker. With four vendors, we sell different kind of bread, but also pastry, cookies, pies, cakes, and so on. We are specialised in selling “oerbrood”, primeval bread which is baked in an artisan way, so without much salt and fat. To compensate for the healthy bread, we have at least 20 different kinds of sweet pastry. Some pastry is made with apple, others with mocha, and some even with the typical Dutch “Advocaat”.’
Days in the life of a market vendor start early. ‘From 06:00 until 08:00 we set up the stall and pack different breads into small size package, for easy selling. At around 08:00, my boss and I grab a cup of coffee, which I bring in a thermos. In the meantime, my boss prepares the breakfast for the four of us. We have an oven with us, to bake baguettes for example. My boss puts our breakfast, which is obviously bread with cheese and ham, into the oven to warm it up. After breakfast and coffee, the first costumers come by. A fun fact, the market is officially opened at 08:00, but we receive our first buyers always around 06:30.’
