“I am a practical example for my students”

Discover the versatility of Irene van Rooij: a teacher with an unbounded passion for adult education and an Extraordinary Registrar of Civil Status in her spare time. “The result of my work is so beautiful to see. The steps people take, that’s what you do it for.”

Irene van Rooij began her career as a consultant at the Employment Office after obtaining her HEAO Commercial Economics degree. "Things were going so well that I was asked to join a management program. I did, and I was put in charge of a branch. Later, I moved to the communications department and became Secretary to the Works Council. And then came the kids, haha. I got pregnant, and it was time to switch gears. I didn't have a 9-to-5 job, and my husband is a contractor. How were we going to manage that with kids?"

I decided to focus on home and took a year of unpaid leave. After that year, I left my job at the Employment Agency and focused on my husband's construction company. In 2011, I wanted to start my own business again. I was hired at a school in Gemert to handle the administration two mornings a week. Eventually, the hours gradually increased, and I became my principal's support and confidante, as he always described it. When he was nearing retirement, I decided it was time to do something else.

Irene explored her options, hesitated between healthcare and education, and eventually came across the Dutch language program. “I was 49 when I started the program. I followed a customized track and obtained my diploma in two years. From day one, I knew for sure: I want to work in adult education. This feeling was confirmed during my internship. I guided an NT2 group towards their exam and knew that this was what I had done it for. After the program, I started looking for a job and was immediately excited by the vacancy at Summa. They were looking for a Dutch language teacher in adult education, for people who wanted to work in the central sterilization department at the hospital. Coincidence doesn't exist, as they sometimes say. It was meant to be; a job where healthcare and education come together.”

I am committed to Lifelong Learning and impart knowledge in a fun, authentic way, using assignments that resonate with the experiences of adults. And preferably within a professional group, so that I can train people in a very targeted manner. I don't just teach Dutch to get you to write the d's and t's right. I do it primarily to make you self-reliant in society, and that is the beauty of MBO (vocational education). Additionally, I am a role model in adult education for my students. I understand them well because I know how difficult it is to combine family, work, hobbies, and studies.

“After six months, my team leader Martijn van der Linden said that they were looking for a Communication teacher at the BIC Campus. I was hired and am now involved with the post-MBO level for the Electrical & Installation Technology program. I teach there on Thursday evenings and Tuesday afternoons, and on the other days I am busy with examinations, teach as a teacher in Care & Welfare, and am also an Extraordinary Registrar of Civil Status. I have been officiating weddings for the municipality of Nuenen for over ten years. It is an incredibly beautiful and rewarding profession to which I gladly dedicate my time.”

Irene is a busy bee. Besides caring for her mother and her work as a teacher and registrar, she also takes training courses. "I'm currently taking the Empowerment course. There, I'm learning things that I incorporate into my classes. I enjoy being involved in different things and am used to juggling multiple tasks. Because of this, my workdays and workdays tend to overlap. I also come from a family of entrepreneurs. My father, my husband, and my in-laws own several businesses. Putting the customer first is in my blood, and that's why I enjoy my work at Summa so much. You maintain a connection with the business world."