Our mission
We are not an association, but rather a platform that brings people together, collects and shares resources, and tries to translate the experiences of our community into policy advice at UT. Th!nk with Pride focuses on four themes: policy and organisation, where we think along with UT parties (like HR) on policy level and represent the LGBTQ+ community there, social and support, as we try to bring people together and be there for each other, arts and culture, to get the spotlight to queer art as a medium to activate and share untold stories, and lastly research and education, where we collect LGBTQ+ related research and discuss how teaching at can be done in a queer-inclusive manner.
We organise events, start initiatives, and collect resources across all four themes. We are also in connection with partners in the region and beyond. And lastly, we hope to connect with you, know where to find us in case you have any ideas or want to think along. You are welcome to help in the broad sense, of focus on one theme.
WHO ARE WE?
Th!nk with Pride currently has seven organising members, browse through the list below to get to know us.
The visibility for the LGBTQI+ community was initiated by Eric Louis. In 2018, he arranged that for the first time a large Rainbow flag flew on one of the three masts at the entrance of the campus on Coming Out day on 11 October. That same year, Eric came into contact with Alex Jonkhart, who was still working for Saxion at the time. Saxion and the University of Twente were looking for cooperation, and when Alex transferred from Saxion to the University of Twente, the working group Th!nk with Pride became reality. From that moment on, Alex and Eric worked together to increase the visibility for this community. A first Get Together during the Coming Out Week in 2019 was an event where staff and students came together to network, while enjoying a piece of rainbow cake.
Within Saxion, the working group Th!nk with Pride Saxion had already been established, and Alex and Eric decided to increase the support for the name by using the same name with the extension UT, thus naming our working group Th!nk with Pride UT. By working together, we can join forces and increase our visibility in the region. This cooperation resulted in the Diversity Day 2020 on 6 October. On this day, the rector of the University of Twente and the chairs of the boards of Saxion University of Applied Sciences and ROC van Twente came together in the Vrijhof to sign a declaration. During this week, the well known letters ‘University of Twente’ at the entrance were also in rainbow style, with the letters UN replaced by a D, creating ‘Diversity of Twente’.
Since then, new members have signed up and together with UT diversity officer Sterre Mkatini, we have formed a working group with enough power and enthusiasm to increase the visibility of the LGBTQI+ community and to set up an information platform. Th!nk with Pride is now structurally funded as part of the DE&I budget.
Tom Boogerd started working at the UT in 2021, following his graduation from Industrial Design Engineering. After a traineeship year, he continued working as Policy Advisor Research for the BMS Research Support Office. Tom has been part of Think with Pride since his graduation, expanding his network over the years and learning new things continuously. He uses his policy perspective to try and bring sustainable change, as embedding LGBTQ+ inclusion in policy (e.g., inclusive parental leave schemes) strengthens the position of our community and uncouples this from the goodwill of individual managers.
Jan Behrens is a graduate from the master's program Health Psychology and Technology at the UT who seeks to combine intersectional feminism, queer activism, and psychology to strive for a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable tomorrow for all. They joined Th!nk with Pride in May 2024 for a research internship to develop an instrument to assess minority stress and resilience in queer people throughout everyday life, supervised by Tessa Dekkers. As part of Th!nk with Pride, they now seek to provide the LGBTQIA+ community with advocacy platforms and resources to improve health and well-being.
Tessa Dekkers has worked at the UT since 2019 as a psychology teacher, postdoc researcher and now assistant professor at the BMS faculty. Their research focuses on the development of digital solutions to improve mental and physical health through co-design, specifically for people who experience health inequalities. Their current project (PROUT) focusses on examining and improving mental health of LGBTQI+ youth. As a pansexual non-binary person (she/they), she chaired the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression group of SEG Inclusion since 2021 and joined Th!nk with Pride as a natural follow-up. They are excited to contribute to a safe, fun, and inclusive campus for staff and students alike.
Anne van Dongen (they/she) Anne (they/she) is an assistant professor at the BMS faculty. After working at universities in Australia and England, they returned to the Netherlands in 2021 where they joined the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression group of SEG Inclusion, as well as Th!nk with Pride. They have a diverse range of research interests, but their main focus is always reducing inequalities in (mental) health. Their current project (PROUT) is dedicated to examining and improving mental health of LGBTQI+ youth. Anne is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment both within academia and society at large.
Hellebore Fass (she/they) Hellebore Fass has started working as a postdoctoral Researcher in medical technology at the University of Twente in 2024 and has joined Th!nk with Pride, to make a difference. Previously she lived in Ireland and Germany where she engaged in LGBTQ+ community work. As such, she has been part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Tyndall National Institute and in Ireland from 2019 to 2023 as well as the LGBT+ Committee of the University College Cork. As part of Th!nk with Pride Hellebore seeks to improve inclusivity and understanding between people as well as raise visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. She hopes to show other trans*, non-binary and queer people that they are not alone.
Reshma Manuchandran Nair (she/her) Reshma Manuchandran Nair is a master's student in Positive Clinical Psychology and Technology at the University of Twente. Since April 2024, she has been interning at Th!nk With Pride, where she explores minority stress theory (MST) in queer international students through interviews. Passionate about unveiling resilience and pride within their mental health narratives, she works under the guidance of Tessa Dekkers, dedicated to enriching queer research to improve mental well-being and foster a supportive community.
Gijs Medendorp has started working as a study adviser at the University of Twente in February 2023 and is involved with Th!nk with Pride to contribute to a safe, welcoming and inclusive university for all students. In his day-to-day work he works as the study adviser for Civil Engineering bachelor students. Gijs strives to keep queer well-being a top priority in the UT study guidance community. He welcomes students from all programmes to come to him if they feel the need to talk to a LGBTQ+ study adviser. All are welcome!
Would you like to contribute to the visibility of the LGBTQI+ community at the UT and become a member of the Th!nk With Pride working group? Please send an e-mail with a short motivation to pride@utwente.nl.
All efforts are appreciated! If you specifically want to contribute on one of four themes above, that is very welcome.
