About Us
Dear prospective first year,
You have found yourself on the right website under the right tab! On this page we introduce the ICE committee, the committee that organizes your introduction period! You will see these people during the first few days quite a bit, and also for the rest of the year during our events. They are always there to answer your questions and concerns, and can show you around as well. If you are interested in the other people behind the events and the association, you can look at the Board tab. We look forward to meeting you at the end of August!
Introduction Committee (ICE)
Zoja "Zo" Čajková (2024) | Chair |
Benedetta "Benny" Papa (2024) | Secretary |
Siward Walinga (2024) | Treasurer |
Ted Graves (2024) | Activities Coordinator |
Esmir Karovic (2024) | Activities Coordinator |
Victor Kugel (2024) | Faculty Introduction Day Coordinator |
Who are the mysterious people organising the FID and the camp? Stay tuned to find out...
Zoja Čajková
Meet Zo, our imaginative chair, hailing from the geographical Central, culturally Eastern European country of Slovakia. NOT Slovenia. She dislikes routine (except for solving the daily NYT connections the second she wakes up) and even though she may not look like it, the first things Zo ever loved were horror and unsolved mysteries. She has probably seen every 1980s slasher film and every Thursday evening she enjoys an episode from a true crime podcast. But you're likely to see her with headphones on outside of this time as well, listening to whatever her “everything playlist” shuffles through. Zo is really into making her own things or getting them second-hand - most of her closet is thrifted, she is a master of slavic engineering and she runs a small personal kombucha fermentary. Zo also enjoys playing the piano, going on scenic walks (and listening to birds), getting tattoos or admiring her extensive stamp collection. She is extremely extroverted and loves making new friends, so do not hesitate to approach her and strike up a conversation about anything.

Benedetta Papa
Meet Benny, our talkative secretary who always brings good suggestions to our meetings. Born in Italy and raised in the Netherlands, Benny enjoys going out with her friends and listening to some funky music. She has always been interested in chemistry from a young age and has always grown up in an international environment, so Groningen was the perfect choice for her. Benny really enjoys going out in Groningen, so if you're looking for some bar advice, she's the person to go to. Side note: Benny has an identical twin sister but no worries, she studies a different programme. So if you talk to someone who looks like Benny, it probably is Benny. Unless you're in the pharmacy building.. then it’s probably her twin.

Siward Walinga
Meet Siward, our always active treasurer, coming from the beautiful province of Friesland. Siward is one of the most active members around. If there is a CB activity then there is a good chance that Siward is also there, as he's been at over 30 events last year alone. If he’s not at an activity you might find him chilling in the lounge with a sparkling ice tea in hand or making some questionable life choices like chugging some wine. And although wine usually has the upperhand, he nevertheless has a passion for making it himself. His real passion however lies within sports, doing both ICE skating and survival run, as well as training for the marathon.
Siward enjoys listening to some indie and alternative music and he's always down to chat about it, or anything else for that matter.

Esmir Karovic
It’s advised to read the following segment with a movie trailer-ish voice
Meet Esmir, our eccentric first activities coordinator, when he doesn’t break his neck over biochemistry, he will probably be doing some questionable sidequest of life, whether its jailbreaking old consoles, going to school in a maid dress, or playing some obscure title no-one but a hand full of people have heard from. This wildcard from northern Groningen is always up for an amazingly random time, the only limit to the amount of chaos he can wreck is that he doesn’t live in the city (yet). Some hobbies include; Cardgames, Poker (and yes they are different), boardgames, vidijo- games, drinking beer, advocating for indefensible opinions (ragebaiting), drinking whiskey, and last but totally not least, convincing people America doesn't exist (It’s the British controlling all news originating from “America”).Though he seems slightly imitating standing at a small 2 meters tall (or 6”5 for any “Americans”) he is a very fun company, loving nothing more than striking up some conversation and discovering what keeps you going.
Also you lost the game Esmir,-

Ted Graves
Meet Ted, our cheeky second activities coordinator and the local iconic pink crocs owner. If being British was a crime, then Ted would be in for a long time. From watching cricket on the lounge pc, or calling people wanker, it's all part of some good old banter. With Ted, a party is never boring as he is down to try out almost anything and can mix up some sick tunes on a DJ table. Even though it may not always sound like it, Ted has a passion for cooking (and getting banned from a Jumbo for stealing 6 kg of potatoes). He is also very good at solving Rubik's cube with a personal record under 30 seconds. If you ever need Ted but cannot find him, chant “Guinness and Beans” three times while spinning in a circle and he will appear in front of you.

Victor Kugel
Meet Victor, our all-round FID coordinator from the Netherlands from the city of Stadskanaal. He was a student at the RUG but did not get his BSA, so now he transferred to Hanze, but is still active within our association. Victor is also active within the GSb where he organizes protests in favour of students. Lastly he is also a member of the Scouts Stadskanaal where he organizes camps and activities for young kids. Victor is really into philosophy; learning about models of how societies and persons work is really interesting to him. Another passion of his is programming, where he is currently working on learning python. Victor also really likes to play guitar, mainly metal, a genre he enjoys because of how hard and fast it goes. Lastly he loves hanging out and drinking beer with people.
