It was a double celebration for Yvanka de Reus from Grootschermer on Tuesday. In the morning she got her driver’s license in one go and in the afternoon she was honored at Horizon College in Alkmaar. The 17-year-old student is the brand new Dutch building carpenter champion. She won gold in the Skills Heroes final. These are national professional competitions for MBO students who excel in their education.
Yvanka was working on her piece of work for almost twelve hours during the final in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. A mini roof construction that had to be right from all sides. “It was very exciting, I saw that my piece of work looked good compared to that of other participants, but if one piece of wood is not in the right place, it goes wrong.”
A burden was lifted off her shoulders when it turned out that her roof construction fitted together perfectly. And so she suddenly became the first girl to be Dutch champion construction carpentry. She hopes to set an example for other ladies who want to work in construction. “It really doesn’t have to be that you are inferior to the rest of your colleagues. It’s really not that it is physically unmanageable. And if there is something you can always ask for help.”
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They are proud of the Horizon College, where Yvanka follows theory lessons, the ESPEQ in Heerhugowaard, where she receives practical lessons, and the Jonker and Meijerhof company where she works. Cake and flowers are served in the shack at the company in Grootschermer. “It’s quite special,” says colleague Arjen Meijerhof. “Not many ladies opt for carpentry training, we now have to do our best ourselves. The pressure is high with a Dutch champion as a colleague.”
Yvanka, along with other students, was honored at Horizon College. In addition to the medal she received as a champion, she will also receive a medal from school and a photo of her will soon be on the wall of fame in the school. You can watch Yvanka’s tribute in the video below.
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To top it all off, Yvanka can defend the Dutch honor at the world championship in China. “The whole experience alone will be super cool, you don’t just experience that. It’s not necessarily about winning for me yet. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
A future in construction is in any case certain for Yvanka. She was interested in carpentry from an early age. “I used to make tree houses and when I was about twelve I started with a freelancer, helping with small jobs on Saturdays. I may want to start my own company in the future, but I don’t know all that yet. That’s for later.”