I started my academic journey as a kindergartner in groep 1. During primary education, I particularly liked to draw, read, and write, and to listen to stories about all kinds of things and topics. I specifically liked stories about nature, history, and space.
I went to the "big school". This included a fair distance (16 km) of cycling each day, which I still love to do. I focused on math, physics, and chemistry, while also being interested in arts and biology. I typically didn't do more than was necessary to advance to the next year.
As I was interested into why people behave as they do, I started my bachelor in Psychology at the University of Groningen. Slowly but steadily I got a hang of studying. After briefly considering to become a primary school teacher, in the third year I fell in love with complex dynamical systems theory and developmental psychology.
In line with my interests, I focused on courses about developmental psychology, and philosophy of science. I wrote my MSc thesis, which was nominated for the GAP thesis prize, about children's gestures, task manipulations, and speech during science & technology tasks.
