Our team 2020-2021

Zoë Everaert

President

Well, hello! My name is Zoë and I’m a third year master student. When I chose to become a veterinarian, my main motivation was the wellbeing of animals. To me it’s important not only to cure them, but also to fight for their rights. A lot of wild animals are being used as an attraction in foreign countries for tourists: elephant riding, petting lions and taking pictures with them, swimming with dolphins and watching them do tricks, etc. but also poaching is a big problem. I think as a human being, it’s best not to interrupt the life of wild animals and just let them live in their natural habitat. We have to inform people and make them aware of the problems nowadays. Besides that, I’m also just fascinated by their greatness and I’m especially interested in wild felines. I hope I can do some beautiful things with VSDW.

Celeste van Hilten

Vice-President

Hi, my name is Celeste and I'm a second master student this year. I've always had a passion to become a veterinarian for all kind of animals but when I traveled to Southern Africa the first time when I was 16 years old, wildlife and conservation sparked my interest. My mission is to become an all-round vet in many different countries to contribute to a healthier relationship between wildlife and the people. For now, I hope to inspire people with our events to do the same!

Barbara Meeus

Vice-President

Since I was a little child, I wanted to practice veterinary medicine. Over the last years, I learned a lot about all the animals in the world. My interest slowly started to grow into wildlife, especially into wild cats. I stepped into the VSDW, to make my dreams come true, step by step. I would like to receive more information and meet new people who can tell me things about their experience in the wildlife. Not only for myself, but also for the other students who are dreaming about the wildlife dream.

Elise Trox

PR-Intern

Hi everyone! My name is Elise, I'm currently in between my third bachelor and first master, and I'll be one the PR-interns this year. I joined the VSDW last year because I wanted to do something besides studying, that would still be related to the veterinary profession. After I had been to South Africa to work in a wildlife rehabilitation centre, my interest in working with wildlife grew. Besides this, I've always had a passion for many aspects considering nature and biology, like ecology, climate change, and biodiversity, and I wanted to stay involved with these subjects. I thus decided that joining the VSDW was the perfect way to maintain and even extend my knowledge and experience regarding such topics! Plus it's a great way to make new connections and discover new possibilities for any future career. 😉 Hopefully you're all just as excited for what's to come this year as I am, and I look forward to seeing you during one of our activities!

Delphine Colpaert

PR-Intern

Hi ! I’m Delphine, currently in my first master of Veterinary Medicine. I’ve always been sure I wanted to be a vet, and my fascination for wildlife only grew over the years, especially for marine animals (I was the kind of child that would ditch everything to watch a documentary about coral reefs). So I joined the faculty of Ghent after a gap year in Australia that confirmed I love the bush life and working with animals. I always tried to learn more than what we were taught through our lessons at the faculty, so I first started going to the lectures the VSDW organized, then joined the commission last year and I will be PR-intern this year with Elise. My absolute dream would be to work for the conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife, whether exotic or native, endangered, or not, wherever on the planet. I hope to learn a lot more through this experience and to organize events/workshops you’ll be inspired by!

Gregory Rota

PR-Extern

Hello, my name is Gregory Rota and I am in my second year master's program in 'Veterinary Science' option Ruminant. Last year I joined the association of veterinary students for development and wildlife. In this way I wanted to take the first steps in sharing the knowledge of veterinary health problems in developing countries and share my interest for veterinary medicine in the global south. As PR-extern I hope to help/inform not only myself, but other students interested in wildlife and development.

Annemiek Wisse

Event-planner

Hi! My name is Annemiek Wisse and I’m currently a second master student in Veterinary medicine. Since the moment I started veterinary medicine I knew that I wanted to work in the wildlife-sector. I’m convinced that helping wildlife and prevent species from going extinct will only better the planet. I've always wanted to travel the world and work at the same time. Combining this with wildlife would be a dream come true. VSDW is the perfect starting point for me to gain knowledge about and experience with wildlife. I’m excited about meeting new people and hearing their story. I hope I can contribute to all the activities and events of VSDW.

Nikita Korver

Social Media Manager

Hi, my name is Nikita! I’m a second year bachelor student in Veterinary Medicine and this is also my second year at the VSDW. I joined last year because I have a big passion for anything regarding wildlife and conservation. This is my first year as social media manager, I’m really excited to bring out all the latest news & let you know what’s happening around the world with regards to wildlife and conservation!

Jonas Leus

Treasurer

I am Jonas Leus and I’m a third year master student in veterinary medicine. I always had a big interest in wildlife and especially in wild bovid species, elephants, rhinos, birds and marine mammals. So last summer I went to Plettenberg Bay to have my first African experience. I joined VSDW this year to learn a lot more about wildlife, share my knowledge with other students and follow my dream to work in the world of wildlife in the future.

Timone Schoonhoven

Responsible for Commission Members

Hi, I’m Timone and I'm a 3rd year bachelor veterinary medicine student. In the past years I volunteered in different rescue centres and research groups around Europe. This was mainly with primates, big cats, whales and sea turtles. I’m intrigued by a lot of animals and like getting experience with species that I’m not familiar with. I joined VSDW to educate other students about wildlife and its conservation and to be part of a group that feels the same passion! I hope to involve fellow students in the wonderful world of wildlife, by organizing educational events!

Harm Kwak

Commission Member

Hello, my name is Harm and I’m a third-year bachelor student in veterinary medicine. I’ve always had a passion for animals and yet I never thought I would become a vet. But here I am doing my best to learn as much as possible. That’s the reason I joined the VSDW, to understand more about a variety of animals and not just our lovely dogs and cats. I’m looking forward to the next several years.

Lise Collijs

Commission Member

Hi! My name is Lise and I am currently a second year bachelor student. I joined VSDW to learn more about my passion for wildlife, and how I can protect it. Besides my love for wild land animals, I am also determined to protect marine animals. In a few years, I want to do something with the conservation of sea life and with that, the whole ocean. That is also the reason why I became a certified diver. VSDW is a perfect place to start building on this dream, with a team that shares the same passions!

Illias Clerin

Commission Member

Hi! My name’s Illias and right now I am in my third bachelor year. I joined VSDW this year because I wanted to be more involved when it comes to wildlife. During our studies we often focus on a smaller number of animal species, mostly the ones that are in constant contact with humans. My interests lie in the ones that we don’t see too often, but on which we still have an enormous impact. I am incredibly excited to learn more about wildlife and to meet the people working in this field

Katrien Franssen

Commission Member

Hi! My name is Katrien. I’m a second year master student in veterinary medicine at Ghent University. Besides my education, I work as a volunteer at a wildlife rescue centre here in Belgium. Conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife are big interests of mine. I think it’s important to educate people about all native and exotic species and spread awareness about the significance of wildlife conservation. In the future, I would love to visit other parts of the world to learn more about different species and to share my experiences with other people!

Marij Laenen

Commission Member

Hi! My name is Marij. Right now I ‘m a second year master student in veterinary medicine. When I was 6 years, I saw a caesarean section on a cow for the first time. At that moment I knew I wanted to become a vet to cure sick animals and to ensure their welfare. The reason that I joined VSDW this year is because I have become more interested in wild life veterinary medicine. This is also the reason that I chose my own topic about dolphins for my master’s thesis.

Nicoline Nieveen

Commission Member

Hi, my name is Nicoline. I am a third year vet student at Ghent University. From an early age it was clear what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was becoming a vet. However, since I started studying it became clear where my real passion lies, working with and for wild life. Therefore, I have joined VSDW since this year as a commission member. I have a great admiration for wild life, these animals command so much respect from people. Therefore it seems very interesting to me to work with wild life. Not only the every day animals on the street need help, but also the animals that are on their own and life in the wild can use our help. Which wild life animals I want to work with is not entirely clear to me at the moment, but step by step I am getting closer to finding my true passion and making my dreams come true. By joining the VSDW and organizing events and activities I hope to contribute to finding the passion of other colleagues. Just as the VSDW has helped me find my passion. I am very excited to learn more about the wild life and to meet people that work in this field.

Annelore Haems

Commision Member

Laetitia Desmars

Commission Member