PHOTO: HENK VEENSTRA
READING TIME: 2 MINUTEN
TJARDA STRUIK
TEXT ELLIS ELLENBROEK
Tjarda Struik (38),
as from November 2023 Mayor of Leiderdorp, draws
attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion
as a blindfuencer on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
She studied Psychology from 2005 to 2012.
Special place
Restaurant Lambik,
Grote Kruisstraat 73
Groningen. University.
But also countless streets, houses,
bridges, squares paved with memories.
Famous former UG students talk about
their special place.
‘I chose to study in Groningen because it’s an orderly city. And I heard that the Psychology department had experience with a student who was visually impaired.
I suffer from macular degeneration.
I was looking forward to living on my own. My parents had bought a house for me next to restaurant Lambik in the Grote Kruisstraat. My dad walked into the restaurant with me and asked the then owner Eddy Weening: ‘Could you keep an eye on my daughter every now and then?’
I enjoyed a bustling student life here. I partied like any other student, enjoyed walking around the city, great memories of Vindicat. At the same time though, Groningen is connected to finding out how poor my eyesight was really getting. Things happened that scared me. I remember standing on the Grote Markt and not knowing which way to go. It may be an orderly city, but
I didn’t know how to get home. There are so many streets ending on the Grote Markt!
I didn’t have a white cane at the time and I was still cycling with my dog Guus in my saddlebag, because
I felt less lonely that way. In the Kijk in ’t Jatstraat, I hit a car which had stopped right in front of me without me noticing. Groningen is the last city where I cycled.
It was no secret that I had poor eyesight, but until
I started using the cane, you couldn’t really tell by looking at me. Only when you were talking to me,
you’d notice that I didn't look you in the eyes. People often thought that I was drunk.
Until the end of my Bachelor’s, I could get by using tricks and devices, but then I moved to Amsterdam. I moved in with someone. All my things were somewhere else, and the city is so big, so crowded. Between my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, I took six months off for rehabilitation. I learned to live with my handicap at Visio Het Loo Erf in Apeldoorn. It was intense, but also essential. I just couldn’t go on like this anymore, I had no choice.’
TJARDA STRUIK
Groningen. Universiteit.
Maar ook talloze straten, huizen, bruggen, pleinen waar herinneringen liggen. Bekende oud-RUG-studenten vertellen over hun speciale plek.
Tjarda Struik (38),
as from November 2023 Mayor of Leiderdorp, draws attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion as a blindfuencer on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. She studied Psychology from 2005 to 2012.
Special place
Restaurant Lambik,
Grote Kruisstraat 73
‘I chose to study in Groningen because it’s an orderly city. And I heard that the Psychology department had experience with a student who was visually impaired. I suffer from macular degeneration.
I was looking forward to living on my own.
My parents had bought a house for me next to restaurant Lambik in the Grote Kruisstraat. My dad walked into the restaurant with me and asked the then owner Eddy Weening: ‘Could you keep an eye on my daughter every now and then?’
I enjoyed a bustling student life here. I partied like any other student, enjoyed walking around the city, great memories of Vindicat. At the same time though, Groningen is connected to finding out how poor my eyesight was really getting. Things happened that scared me. I remember standing on the Grote Markt and not knowing which way to go. It may be an orderly city, but I didn’t know how to get home. There are so many streets ending on the Grote Markt!
I didn’t have a white cane at the time and I was still cycling with my dog Guus in my saddlebag, because I felt less lonely that way. In the Kijk in ’t Jatstraat, I hit a car which had stopped right in front of me without me noticing. Groningen is the last city where I cycled.
It was no secret that I had poor eyesight, but until I started using the cane, you couldn’t really tell by looking at me. Only when you were talking to me, you’d notice that I didn't look you in the eyes. People often thought that I was drunk.
Until the end of my Bachelor’s, I could get by using tricks and devices, but then I moved to Amsterdam. I moved in with someone. All my things were somewhere else, and the city is so big, so crowded. Between my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, I took six months off for rehabilitation. I learned to live with my handicap at Visio Het Loo Erf in Apeldoorn. It was intense, but also essential. I just couldn’t go on like this anymore, I had no choice.’
TEXT: ELLIS ELLENBROEK