Our team 2022-2023

Celeste van Hilten

President

Hi, my name is Celeste and I'm a third 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!

Elise Trox

Vice-President

Hi everyone! My name is Elise, I'm currently in between my first and second master. I joined the VSDW 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. I thus decided that joining the VSDW was the perfect way to maintain and extend my knowledge! Plus it's a great way to make new connections 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!

Gregory Rota

PR-Extern

Hello, my name is Gregory Rota and I am in my third 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.

Harm Kwak

PR-Intern

Hello, my name is Harm and I’m a first-year master 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.

Laetitia Desmars

PR-Intern

Hi! I'm Laetitia, a third master student. Since my first year I have been following the VSDW-events because I strongly believe that going to university is not only about taking exams. At the VSDW, I focus on the "development" part of our association (food security, public health, N-S cooperation). As I'm interested in a broad range of topics, I was always very grateful to attend all those inspiring lectures. I truly hope our events will leave you full of motivation and inspiration too! At the faculty you might find me with the horses or at the Laval Lab where we do some exciting research on Multiple Sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you don't find me there, you could probably join me for a run!

Timone Schoonhoven

Treasurer + Responsible for commission members

Hi, I’m Timone and I'm a first year master 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!

Annemiek Wisse

Treasurer + Event-planner

Hi! My name is Annemiek Wisse and I’m currently a third 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.

Lise Collijs

Social Media Manager

Hi! My name is Lise and I am currently a third 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!

Delphine Colpaert

Commission Member

Hi ! I’m Delphine, currently in my second 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. 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!

Illias Clerin

Commission Member

Hi! My name’s Illias and right now I am in my first master 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!

Nikita Korver

Commission Member

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!

Emma Laenen

Commission Member

Hi! My name is Emma. 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 first master 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.

Delano Linders

Commission Member

My name is Delano Linders. I was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Suriname and I am currently studying veterinary medicine in Ghent, Belgium. From a very young age, I’ve know that I wanted to work with animals. In Suriname my passion for wildlife and stray animals was born. There I volunteered at the local zoo and several animal rights organizations, before moving back to Europe to persue my dream: becoming a veterinarian, for the sake of helping more animals. It is my ambition to return to Suriname and start a wildlife rehabilitation center. I also want to contribute in decreasing the number of stray animals there by volunteering at spay and neuter programs. I joined VSDW because I wanted to be more in touch with people who share my passion for wildlife and to be more invested in this particular field of work, early on in my career. I’m excited to get started and know for sure we’re going to do some amazing things!

Mila van Zantvoort

Commission Member

Hi! My name is Mila and I’m a first year master student in veterinary medicine. I grew up with small animals but I have always loved wildlife and always wanted to know more about it. After an internship at a wildlife rescue centre in Belgium, I realized how important it is for veterinarians here to have an understanding about wildlife as well. The animals in our “backyard” need help from time to time as well. I decided to join VSDW to expand my knowledge of animal species we don’t necessarily come across during our studies and to learn more about conservation efforts in different parts of the world. Moreover it is the perfect opportunity to get to know like-minded people who share similar interests. Hopefully we can share experiences and learn something from each other!