Interview: Casper Meijer - Treasurer, 50th Board of MAEUR

1. Who are you?

My name is Casper Meijer, born and raised in Leiderdorp and 24 years young. I am currently writing my thesis to complete my MSc in Marketing at the Erasmus School of Economics.

2. What made you choose to apply for the MAEUR board?

I applied for the MAEUR board for several reasons. First of all, I was not sure what I wanted to do after completing my masters. Applying for a traineeship? A second master? Travelling? A really hard choice for most students in the last phrase of their masters. Around this time, MAEUR also started recruiting new board members. I actually didn’t think about this opportunity but when weighing all the pro’s and con’s of each option, I came to the conclusion that a board year had by far most pro’s. On the one hand leading one of the biggest study associations on campus while on the other hand enriching and enjoying your student life. Secondly, as Chairman of MAEUR’s Hackathon committee last year (now known as the Big Data Challenge), I already had a really good feeling with the association and the idea of being more involved convinced me to apply for a board year at MAEUR. I applied for the position as Treasurer since it covers a wide spectrum of responsibilities and tasks.

3. What is your function and what does it entail?

My function is Treasurer, which means that I am responsible for the financial health of the association. This position really challenges your analytical and strategical thinking. Tasks are among other things: drafting an annual budget, having budget conversations with several committees, communicating with different stakeholders (university, audit/operational/strategical counsel, companies, bank, chamber of commerce etc.), booking revenues and expenses, drafting invoices, financial reports, proposals and tax reports and ultimately the association’s annual report.

4. Describe the day in the life of a Treasurer.

It’s a Thursday in early March. and I start my day with a cup of coffee and quickly scan my incoming mail. Then I start to prioritize, what’s important today and needs to be done? Then I grab my phone to text/call a chair of one the committee to discuss their budget and financial progress; their event is coming closer. Then I book several expenses and revenues in our accounting system before starting with my 3-weekly financial report. After having lunch, I complete the report and send it to the Audit Council before I move on to a cross functional meeting where we discuss the overall progress of the committees. At the end of the day I have one last meeting planned with the whole board to discuss updates, strategical issues and planning.

5. What did you learn from your time as board member?

Next to developing some hard skills (e.g. accounting, budget-making) and enriching my knowledge (e.g. rules and regulation of the Dutch Tax Authority) I also grew as a person. During my board year, I had to deal with different personalities, nationalities and difficult (unexpected) situations. Thereby I had to learn negotiating, making consensuses, having difficult conversations but most importantly how to lead one of the biggest associations on campus together with my fellow board members.

6. What is your most fun memory?

The interaction and fun times together with all the active members of MAEUR! It is beautiful to see how new friendships emerge and how involved everyone is within our association. I enjoyed our members weekends, active members night(s) and all our monthly drinks most! Thereby is MAEUR an interfaculty association which means you also interact with other (board) members of other study associations. You go for example to all constitution drinks (cobo’s) and birthdays (Dies’en) of the other associations to celebrate, drink and have fun together.

7. What are you going to do after your board year?

Currently I am not sure whether I want to apply for a traineeship or applying for a second master.

8. What’s your favorite quote?

“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson.

9. What advice would you give to someone who is considering a board year?

Do it! It’s a lifetime experience and you will never regret it. During a board year you have the unique opportunity to take a seat in the cockpit (board room) of a company at a very young age. It develops your strategical thinking, it exposes you to difficult and challenging situations and it allows you to grow personally. Next to all the hard work you will also make a lot of new friends and have legendary times together. It sounds cliché, but I can assure you, you come out as a better version of yourself.

If you are interested to know more about MAEUR, a board year or, more specifically, being Treasurer, please message me at treasurer@maeur.nl or +31 6 48 23 22 54