‘I already knew what I wanted to study when I grew up when I was still at nursery! My smart older brother in the bunk bed above me taught me everything about arithmetic. I would become a mathematician. Not a doubt in my mind. However, after working in automation for a year, I started thinking about what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my professional life. It then occurred to me that I wanted to become a minister. A completely new idea. I was almost afraid to tell my wife.

I was always more into exact sciences, but as a theologist you have to learn languages. I wasn’t sure if I could do that. It was a big leap of faith to quit my job while having a
two-year-old son at home. I started taking courses in Greek and Latin in my spare time. That went well and I enjoyed it, so I felt confident to take the next step and start with the degree in Theology. Another seven years of studying of which I enjoyed every minute.

During my second time as a student, we had three more children. My wife is a nurse but she didn’t have a lot of time to work. We had to make do with very little. We saw that as a fun challenge. Luckily, the Dutch Reformed Churches supported us financially.

Wapenveld is my fourth municipality. There were more municipalities who asked me to be their minister. I can deliver a sermon quite well and that makes you in high demand. But I won't be called for anywhere else again.
At the end of 2020, I was told that I suffer from Kahler’s disease (multiple myeloma) and my life expectancy is limited. My disease gave me a boost to finish the book I had been thinking about for years. In Het verhaal van de Bijbel [The story of the Bible], I use simple language to tell the story of the Bible, the most important book of the world.
I believe that I’m doing many people a service by retelling the story concisely. By now, a fourth edition of Het verhaal van de Bijbel has been published. My daughter Marjan,
who studied linguistics at the University of Groningen, worked on the book with me. It was fantastic to do this together. When you only have a short time to live, you want to spend quality time with each of your children. For us,
this truly was quality time.’

‘I already knew in secondary school that I wanted to
work in education. I love explaining things to children. Mathematics was the way to get there. Immediately
after my studies, I started working as a teacher at the
pre-university school Gymnasium Apeldoorn. For 35 years,
I had the best time there. I was on the school board for the last 11 years. Towards the end I wasn't teaching any more. In 2022, someone joined the board of the Stichting Veluwse Onderwijsgroep [Veluwe Education Foundation] on an interim basis. Gymnasium Apeldoorn is a member of this foundation. He and I didn’t get along well. It happens. We decided to go our separate ways. At the start of the 2022 May break, I closed the school's doors behind me for the last time.

It was a difficult period, but I turned it around. I had left with a good settlement agreement. And I’m not the type of person to sit in a corner crying. Together with a colleague we started our own business. Lef in Leren [Guts in Learning], a tutoring centre. We teach secondary school pupils how to study. That writing summaries isn’t helpful, for example. Pupils write summaries that are longer than the book itself. They grab a marker and turn it into a colouring page. Completely useless. For a start: try to read in a different way. We don't only help with mathematics, but also with French, history, geography, and any other subject. Learning strategies are not connected to the school subject.

We are full up and already moved to a larger building. We had built a name at school and in Apeldoorn, so parents quickly know where to find us. Some children don’t want to leave any more. They want to keep doing their homework with us, because they are less focussed at home.

Besides Lef in Leren, I also founded a maths training centre for tutoring and exam training. I’m also available for short replacements as a teacher and as supervisor of the maths department to achieve better quality.

I was convinced I would reach my retirement at the Gymnasium in Apeldoorn. It was my school. My second home. But now I’m thinking: What happened there, should have happened to me ten years earlier. I've returned to why I chose education in the first place: helping children progress.’

ERIK DWARSHUIS (56)

STUDIED > Mathematics, 1986-1990, Theology at Kampen Theological University, 1993–1999 WORKS AS > minister of the Dutch Reformed Churches in Wapenveld FAMILY > married to Christine, five children aged between 35 and 23 that live away from home, and seven grandchildren. HOUSE > semi-detached house in Wapenveld near forests and the IJssel river. INCOME > € 6500 gross per month
WWW > hetverhaalvandebijbel.nl

ERWIN HUDEPOHL (60)

STUDIED > Mathematics, 1982–1987 WORKS AS > founder and owner of a training centre for mathematics and a tutoring centre FAMILY > partner Rosalien (37) and son Benjamin (3), three adult sons from a previous relationship and one granddaughter HOUSE > terraced house in Apeldoorn INCOME> € 110.000 revenue from
his company (2024) WWW > hudepohl-wtc.nl en
www.lef-in-leren.nl

One mathematician was convinced he would teach at the pre-university
school he had been working at for 35 years until his retirement. But
that is not how it went. After working with computers for two years,
the other mathematician found his true calling: a church minister!