What can a student learn from a (top) athlete? For example, how to deal with discipline and perseverance. Because both the student and the athlete must cross the finish line and achieve a goal within a certain time. That is why the educational foundation WeConnect is organizing a baseball clinic with Baseball or Softball club Neptunus in Rotterdam. Former professional baseball player Diegomar Markwell will host the clinic.
WeConnect
WeConnect is an educational foundation in the Netherlands that carries out various projects regarding the well-being and study success of Caribbean students. For example, the foundation offers budget training, networking or job application workshops and meetings on mental health. Everything aimed at increasing study success. “Baseball is the big sport on our islands, so we connect with something that our students know and like. This clinic will inspire them and hopefully attract more male students! ” explains WeConnect manager Tanja Fraai.
Diego Markwell
Diegomar Markwell has been associated with Neptunus for decades. The left-handed pitcher is active as a pitching coach at Rotterdam Unicorns, among others. He also does that for the Kingdom team. In 2023 he officially retired as a player after more than 200 appearances for the club. He is motivated to give a clinic to students from Curaçao, Aruba and the other islands: “I have a lot of resilience and am someone who is motivated to achieve everything in life through hard work. I never give up and I want to convey that to the students too. My answer is: Lefty Never Quit and Quitters Never Win.”
Students
Every year, around 1,500 students from Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius come to the Netherlands. They follow an MBO, HBO or WO education here. The study opportunities in the Netherlands are many times greater than on the islands. There are various challenges for students such as language, housing, cultural change and the connection between secondary education and higher education. WeConnect is one of the organizations that helps students get started, with support from, among others, the Ministries of the Interior & Kingdom Relations, Education and Health.
The baseball clinic is from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Admission is free, registration is required via this registration link:
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/909810286057?aff=oddtdtcreator. A good time and summer sun are also on the program!
More information can be found on WeConnect’s social media channels.
