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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 />

88 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 89

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