Rudi van Huyssteen

Positions

Head Mentor HK Member

Portfolios

Head Mentor O-Week (Welcoming) leader Jool * Social Interactions ( to make sure all the first years are in some way involved or active to make new friends)

Overview

I think the coming year is going to be a year with a lot of uncertainty and fear. As we are currently in a pandemic and this has had an immense effect on our households, our financial positions and our mental and physical wellness. With the added uncertainty of how the academic year will continue and all the activities that need to be adjusted to the regulations.

As Vice Head Mentor and “HK Leier” this year, I continuously connected with the first years regarding their wellness and could clearly see the effects of the pandemic and as I remained stable, they could turn to me for advice and a friend to talk to. I think that to have a friendly face with a strong moral code and who can remain stable and calm when things get rough is an essential part for the coming year.

The Pieke House and Community has always had a strong brotherly bond and we as a house must ensure that all Pieke members have a support structure behind them and a place to turn to. I want to create a stronger brotherly bond that is more racially diverse and inclusive and a community that recognizes the social injustices that are currently taking place and can act on them. As I stated in my video, I want to encourage individualism in a time where society is forcing us to be and act in a certain way. I want the Pieke name to be one of Excellence and each of our members must feel the Pieke pride behind them.

The position as Vice Head Mentor taught me alot about leadership and really challenged the way I approached situations. I feel that being in a leadership position and being very actively involved in a lot of the HK activities and positions this year, has taught me a lot about how the processes work and how to handle situations, but it also made my face known among the first years and the house, and how they looked up to me in Welcoming period as a friend and leader.

In PMS ser of 2020 (the little we had), I also took up a leadership role and really helped Jan connect with the gentlemen to communicate and inspire them.

I have a very optimistic view towards life and I think this gives the people around me hope and energy to continue with the tasks at hand with spontaneity and energy.

I am creative; optimistic; able to inspire others; can multitask; quick to get results and great at getting things started and I excel when I am focused on the big picture. I struggle with being impatient; over-optimistic with what others can achieve; being easily distracted and getting things finished.

Suggestions

1. In Crossing the line in welcoming, a longer duration with more involvement from the HK and Mentors. This will let the members feel more safe to share their stories.

2. Tampon Talk was a great learning experience for me in 1st Year and I would definitely like to educate the Pieke men on this and how to act.

3. More Social interactions between the men’s residences, as I feel we had very little

positive interactions with the other men’s residences this year.

4. I would also like to create the opportunity for more Pieke events during the year, where everyone can have a chance to connect with their peers more often.

Problems

As a leadership role, there should obviously be some sort of separation between friends and leader, but I think that a better HK and mentors bond (the bond I had with the HK was a very nice exception) is required as think some of the mentors would have wanted to have a similar bond with the HK as I did.

Goal

I want to be a Leader that is; a strong figure to look up to in difficult times, a Leader with a friendly and approachable personality, Decisive about my actions and how I want to do things, Open to listen to new ideas and other people's opinions, Spreading my optimistic lifestyle and hopefully influencing others in a positive way, but mostly to HAVE FUN while doing all of this.

I think that my current position as Vice Head Mentor and my relationship with the current HK, Mentors ( possible new HK ) and Pieke Community is a great asset when creating future relations and when moving forward as a new HK team. The Pieke HK is a team, and functions extremely well due to the friendly and close relationship between its members, and the trust that is clearly visible among them.