Steven Pieterse (own photo) Turning points: sometimes you spot them immediately, sometimes only in hindsight. In this series, member of the WUR community describes a decisive moment they will never forget. This time, Bachelor’s student Steven Pieterse talks about when he switched degree programme.
‘Last year, I started the Food Technology Bachelor’s. Everything was new and exciting and I was really enthusiastic. But the degree programme wasn’t what I had expected. Teaching was online because of the coronavirus and I had hardly any contact with my fellow students. The standard was also very advanced and the material was all in English. I only knew the terms I’d learned at school in Dutch, which made the degree even more challenging, and my enthusiasm slowly evaporated.
I reached a low point towards the end of the second period. My motivation had almost gone. Even opening my laptop for the morning lectures was tough. The fact that my bed and desk are just a couple of metres apart didn’t help either. It was difficult to keep my studies and my private time separate, and I sank into a lazy rhythm.
I clearly remember the key moment when everything changed. My younger sister was investigating Bachelor’s options and asked me what I knew about the Communication & Life Sciences programme in Wageningen. I’d never heard of that degree but when I started reading up about it, I felt interested. I thought, ‘This degree is perfect for me’. My study adviser advised me to keep going a bit longer but I couldn’t summon up the energy anymore. I stopped my studies before the Christmas holidays and enrolled for Communication & Life Sciences.
I’ve now finished the first module of my new degree. In Communication & Life Sciences, we don’t study the material in such depth, but we look more at the broader picture. A lot of the work is done in groups (online), which means I am in daily contact with my fellow students and the teachers. I don’t have the language barrier either now because the first year is entirely in Dutch. We’ll have some courses in English as of next year but that shouldn’t be a problem once I’ve mastered the material.’