A lounge where you can drop in, plop down on the couch and chat about your day while having a cup of tea. It seems so normal. Yet many students miss having a place where that is possible. Especially when it comes to someone offering a listening ear. Fritha de Swardt is a student coach, but she prefers to call herself a ‘lounge mama’. She is happy to talk about the successful Saxion lounge pilot scheme. The number of schools with student lounges is growing steadily. “Students can tell me everything here. I don't judge, but I can pay attention. I'm here and I'm listening.”
When I speak to Fritha de Swardt, she is sitting on the couch of the new lounge at the School of Governance, Law & Urban Development (ABR&R) in Enschede. The wall behind her features a mural. Is it a butterfly or a bird? In any case, the colours are warm. Just like the atmosphere in the lounge and our conversation that follows. Fritha has worked at Saxion for about fourteen years now. She has taught at different schools. She still does that: two days a week, at the School of Creative Technology (ACT). The other three days, Fritha can be found in various lounges at Saxion. Not only at ABR&R, where I’m meeting her now, but also at ACT and HBS, the Hospitality Business School.
It all started at the latter in 2022, as a pilot scheme during the corona pandemic, so she says: “During that period, I started as a study skills coach at our internal Education & Student Support [OSS, ed.] service, in addition to my work as a lecturer. Many students had a hard time, during and just after that first lockdown. There was a somewhat longer waiting list to see our student counsellors and psychologists. As a study skills coach, I was already working in line with student counsellors and psychologists at that time, with students who could use some extra coaching. I noticed that I enjoyed the work. Also that I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with students. The extra training I did in that area helped give me even more depth.”
I noticed that I enjoyed the work. Also that I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with students.
Friendly, peaceful and safe
The idea for a lounge came from HBS colleague Annouk van der Lely, says Fritha. Such a lounge should be a different kind of space other than a creative and cosy ‘hangout’ of a student or study association. Above all, it had to be a lounge that exudes peace and safety. A safe place where students can relax, talk, and play a game. The coach, who is present once a week on a fixed day, acts as a fixed point of contact. For small talk, but also for a listening ear, if need be. Someone you can turn to, “with any question at all,” Fritha explains. “The idea was to lower the threshold between the school, the student counsellors and psychologists. The coach is the first point of contact to help students find information on MySaxion, or to refer them to a student counsellor or psychologist. And if there is a waiting list, the coach can already help a lot. By listening, helping by looking at the study schedule or sometimes giving a few tips. That was the idea.”
From that idea, a pilot scheme came into being in 2022 with a first lounge at HBS in Deventer. Fritha was the first coach, helped with the design of the lounge (still located in room B2.23) and soon saw the space change into a friendly place, fully used by students. “A blueprint for how other lounges at other schools could take shape. It didn't take long for students to find me there. With a cup of coffee, a treat around Sinterklaas or Easter, a game at the table, a chat on the couch. As soon as I started helping students, it spread like wildfire: ‘If something is bothering you, you can ask Fritha for advice.’ It was slowly but surely getting busier. Now I'm often busy non-stop.”
Fritha de Swardt: "As soon as I started helping students, it spread like wildfire: ‘If something is bothering you, you can ask Fritha for advice.’ It was slowly but surely getting busier. Now I'm often busy non-stop.”
Ten around the table
Fritha focuses on her contact with students in the lounge. At HBS, colleague Anouk was coordinator in the early days. “She made it well known, among students, student counsellors, psychologists and study career counsellors. It's good to separate those tasks, so that you can both focus your energy on the right things,” says Fritha, who now also gives workshops in ‘her’ lounges. For example, every Tuesday afternoon from 14:00-15:00 at HBS: ten people around the table, talking about themes such as fear of failure, planning with pleasure, dealing with stress and procrastination. “You need to sign up for those workshops. However, we regularly also just sit together playing a game or pulling cards from the chit chat jar. It can be a prelude to a conversation, but it doesn't have to be. It is also just nice to be together, to pay attention to each other and feel connected. Many students also just stick their heads around the door, to say hello or for a quick chat. That's nice too. The lounge is becoming a permanent fixture at these schools.”
How does Fritha deal with students who want to talk one-on-one? Difficult conversations often require privacy. “Then the door closes for a while, as a sign to others that I am in a private conversation. It works very well. If you come back later, the door will be open again and everyone is welcome again. Students can also email me, for another time of day. And I have to be honest... most conversations are not so private. It usually happens that I am sitting on the couch with a student going through a study schedule, while another listens in sitting at the table and takes some tips from it. That reinforces one another. Actually, it just seems to happen by itself. I call myself the lounge mama. One that throws in a lot of humour, by the way. That also helps. To keep things light-hearted, but also to make real contact.”
I call myself the lounge mama. One that throws in a lot of humour, by the way. That also helps. To keep things light-hearted, but also to make real contact.
Attention
Why does Fritha think things are going so well with the lounges? “I think these kinds of places meet a clear need. Our society has changed. Everyone is busy, diaries are too full, an increasing number of people have to work hard to keep their heads above water. As a result, there is less attention for each other. Not just within families, but also in other places, for example in student houses. And it is precisely that moment when you want to relax after a college day, to come home...that's so important.” She often hears from others that she is a good listener, says Fritha. She considers this a great compliment and is grateful that others experience her this way. “I don't immediately think of all kinds of solutions during a conversation. Sometimes it is indeed nice if someone just listens. Or says to you: ‘What's really the matter?’ And sometimes I ask a small question, which leads to a student coming up with a solution or conclusion themselves. Something like that happens when you can give someone time and attention. In that respect you can't ask that of a study career counsellor or lecturer. And everyone understands that. That's why I want to be that extra pair of ears. Think of me as a first filter, one which catches a lot.”
She herself has been through a lot in her life, says Fritha. Wonderful and less wonderful things, that’s how she sums it up. Experiences that caused her to develop an enormous sense of empathy for students over the years. “Especially for students with problems. Because believe me, every student has a story. The number of students with eating disorders is increasing, there are students with negative sexual experiences...I haven't studied to help them with all those things, but I can listen. And thank them for their openness. I often say: ‘Let's see if I can think with you, how you can move forward with this.’ Just like: ‘You can tell me anything, because I won’t judge you, there is nothing you can shock me with.’ I am here and I listen. And do you know what is an important element in my case? I am not employed by the schools where I sit in the lounges. I have no influence or interests. That can feel extra safe for students. We leave it to schools to decide whether they give this role to someone from their own team or from outside the school.”
Frtiha de Swardt: "I don't immediately think of all kinds of solutions during a conversation. Sometimes it is indeed nice if someone just listens. Or says to you: ‘What's really the matter?’"
Heart of the school
One final question. Can students still go to the lounge when coaches such as Fritha are not present? “Certainly. The lounge is a nice place for a seat or to meet others during the whole week. It's not just about the lounge coach. The other day I came in and I found a few students who were colouring mandalas at the main table. Isn't that wonderful? International students also know the way to the lounges. Their network is sometimes a bit smaller. It is a coming and going of people all week. Between classes, after classes. Also when I'm not there. I call the place ‘the heart of the school’. It gives me so much satisfaction to be able to play a part in this. You connect with someone not only as a student, but primarily as a person. That's what matters to me.”
Femke Woertman studies Facility Management and was approached last year to fulfil the role of first-year student coach in the lounge at HBS: “I was already quite familiar with the lounge, because of the tutoring I had received from Fritha. I saw this role as a great opportunity to organise events for students. And to think about what I had missed in my first year of study. What makes the lounge so special is it’s approachable atmosphere. Students can come here with questions about their programme, about study subjects and how to combine your studies with the rest of your life. But the lounge is also a place for a chat, or just to relax. That mix of relaxation and support makes our lounge a good addition to HBS. I am here every Tuesday from 11:00 to 14:00.”
At Saxion, we work hard to increase student success, student well-being and student loyalty. As well as reducing student dropout rates. By having lounges at our schools, we can make an extra contribution to this. The lounge is included in the Strategic Plan. A budget has been made available from the Quality Agreement Funds.
Lounges are physical spaces where students can relax, retreat or meet fellow students. In addition, lounge coaches offer support, advice and guidance one day a week. This lowers the threshold between the study coach and the second-line Student Support Team of the Student Support Centre. In addition to the lounge coach, one of the student psychologists has a drop-in consultation hour a few times a week. This is in addition to the regular services of the Study Success Centre and Student Support Team.
The first lounge was set up as a pilot project at HBS in Deventer in 2022/2023. After a successful evaluation, a budget was made available in 2024 to realise more lounges. In this calendar year, lounges have been and will be opened at the school of Governance, Law and Urban Development, the School of Education, Building Business & Technology, Life Science Engineering & Design, School of Creative Technology and the School of Commerce and Entrepreneurship. There will also be a lounge at the Saxion location in Apeldoorn. Other schools will follow later.
Project leader Odette Guijt (Education & Student Support Department) is pleased with developments: “The lounges are part of an integrated approach to student success and student well-being. In co-creation with the schools and their students, we have designed lounges that meet their wishes and needs. Both in terms of the design and the services and support on offer. I am proud of what we have achieved together in a short time. Research shows that students appreciate space for relaxation and social interaction. They feel at home, seen and heard. The easy access to student support provided by the lounge coaches certainly contributes to this. The fact that lounges have been included in the Strategic Plan underlines the importance that Saxion attaches to them. I can't wait until every school has at least one lounge!”
Photography Fritha: Thomas Busschers (Dienst Marketing Communicatie)
Translation: Graeme Cunningham (Translation Services)
