Inspiring Women Magazine May 2023
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profile<br />
The "Pandemic President"<br />
FAWCO’s outgoing President, Emily van Eerten, AWC The Hague, says<br />
"goodbye" to her role as President.<br />
Emily van Eerten<br />
I<br />
grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and until I<br />
was 12 had never been further than the<br />
surrounding states. That year, my older<br />
brother was part of a local youth<br />
symphonic band that toured Europe. My<br />
parents had never been abroad at that point<br />
either, so they signed up to be chaperones and<br />
my younger brother and I got to tag along as<br />
well. It was a “if this is Tuesday, this must be<br />
Belgium” kind of tour, with concert stops in<br />
London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Copenhagen<br />
and Oslo. I loved it.<br />
When I was 16, my life changed dramatically<br />
when my older brother and his best friend<br />
were broadsided by a concrete-mixer truck.<br />
Nothing can prepare a family for that news,<br />
and although we still got up every morning and<br />
got through the subsequent days and years,<br />
the harsh lesson that life is a gift with an<br />
unknown expiration date hit me in such a<br />
way that I approached every future decision<br />
with the question, if not now, when? I decided<br />
I would see the world, starting with Rice<br />
University out of state. In my sophomore year, I<br />
decided somewhat late that I should go abroad<br />
for my junior year. Too late for any established<br />
programs, I wrote to the British consulate,<br />
got a list of universities, wrote to ten of them,<br />
applied directly to three, and chose the one<br />
with the most appealing brochure, St. Andrews<br />
in Scotland. Luckily this ended up being even<br />
cheaper than Rice, so my parents reluctantly<br />
agreed. It was a fabulous<br />
experience, which included a<br />
spring break trip to Israel and<br />
Egypt, acting in a theatre group<br />
and performing at the Edinburgh<br />
Emily as<br />
FAWCO<br />
President in<br />
2005<br />
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