The 15-year-old Esmeralde van Wijde is this year’s youngest freshman. ‘People only notice after asking for my age.’

When you see Esmeralde van Wijde amongst other introduction participants, you wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. But the 15-year-old is this year’s youngest participant of the introduction week. Esmerald: ‘People only notice when asking for my age, but to me it’s not a strange thing anymore.’

The Educational Sciences student lives with her parents in Arnhem and skipped two grades in primary school. ‘Because of that I mostly hang out with people older than me,’ Esmeralde explains. Her age also means that drinking a beer is not in it this week. ‘But that’s fine by me. I rarely drink anyways, and nothing is obligated in my introduction group.’

Nerves

Before Esmeralde came to Nijmegen, she was a bit nervous. Esmeralde: ‘I came alone by train from Arnhem to a city where I didn’t know anyone yet. But in hindsight those nerves were for nothing. It’s easy to talk to new people and I have an amazing introduction group.’ And if Esmeralde had to choose between her hometown and Nijmegen? ‘Then I would go for Nijmegen. The people here are so much more fun.’