All staff members of IST

Anke studied at the University of Twente and specialised in Economics. She is involved in developing the national Dutch curriculum. She teaches Economics and Business Studies at IST and is also the IB DP Coordinator. This means that she is the contact person with regards to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme which was established at IST in school year 2017/2018. Anke feels that teaching is about giving students a broad and deep understanding of the world in which we live. Economics and Business Studies give us a good view on what people, companies and governments do. Anke is married and has two children. Her hobbies are textiles, arts & crafts, gardening and reading.

Bianca joined IST in 2019 covering administration, admission and communication duties. Originally from Italy, Bianca has spent the last two decades living in many different parts of the world and thus finds the IST’s international environment a perfect fit for her personality and background. Over the years, Bianca has been directly involved in international schools in different roles: as a parent, as an employee, as a member of the Parents Support Group and of the Parents Council. When not travelling (by far her biggest passion) Bianca lives in Enschede with her husband, three children, and their dog.

Carmen joined the ISTwente team in July 2019 after previously teaching at several Dutch schools. She grew up in the International School Community in Germany and Poland and has always seen the benefits in social wellbeing and cultural awareness that international education provides. Since then, she’s wanted to be a part of an international team to pay these benefits forward. To her, teaching students to the best of their and her ability, and getting to know students and seeing them grow into respectful, global citizens is the best part of her day.

Carola is an Educational Psychologist and International School Twente’s Spanish teacher. She is from Lima in Peru and came to Enschede to obtain a master’s degree at the University of Twente. She has a wide experience in teaching children and adults. Carola is married and has two daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and baking. She loves to share her language and culture with her students.

Chris Bonke joined IST in July 2019 after living abroad as an international educator. He has worked at international schools in China and Malaysia as a teacher, the head of the humanities department and the theory of knowledge coordinator. He is committed to the education of his students, to fostering international mindedness, and to the growth of IST.

Chris and his family greatly value being part of an international community. He is originally from The Netherlands and his wife is from Thailand. They have a 2 year old daughter who was born in Malaysia, and a baby son born in the Netherlands.

Diana was born in Groningen and studied Dutch Language and Literature and International Literature at the University of Groningen, focusing on Language Philosophy for her thesis. After her studies at the University, she followed a professional education to become a teacher of Dutch as a Second Language.

Diana has taught Dutch, both as a first and second language, for twenty years to a variety of audiences; from refugees to staff members of the University of Twente. She has also written articles about cultural diversity.

In her spare time, Diana loves to read, sport and sing in a choir. She lives in Almelo with her husband, daughter and Jack Russell.

Dorothee grew up in Erfurt, in the eastern part of Germany, and attended the Universities of Jena, Göttingen and Groningen. She has a Master’s degree in European Culture and German Literature and Language as well as a Teaching Degree for Secondary Education. Dorothee has lived in Israel and in Boston, Massachusetts for some time. She enjoys getting to know people from other parts of the world and working in international communities such as at IST.

Dorothee loves to teach German as it has many beautiful words and works of literature handed down by great writers and poets. Besides her love for languages, she also enjoys listening to music, reading literature and photography as a pastime.

Edwin studied International Marketing at Saxion University of Applied Sciences. He started his career as a (senior) Investment Advisor at a bank, and after ten years he became a teacher at Saxion in Enschede. His subjects were (International) Economics and Management & Organization. In 2017 Edwin joined the team at IST and his subjects are Economics and Business. Edwin likes to help students to see connections between theory practised in class and Economics and Business in ‘real life’.

Esther has been the CAS-coordinator for the Diploma Programme and Career Counsellor since December 2016. She has over 14 years’ experience as a Career Counsellor and as SEN-coordinator in secondary and vocational education. Esther is very enthusiastic about working with international students since she can explore and create global opportunities for and together with her students. Esther lives, along with her husband and her two sons, in Rijssen, a small town in the Twente Region.

Gerard was born in Enschede about 60 years ago and grew up in Lonneker. After military service he started working at Polaroid in Enschede and there he also completed his studies as a chemical analyst. He worked for 29 years at Polaroid in the analytical laboratory and research lab and started in 2008 as a technical teaching assistant in chemistry at college Zuid. He is interested in students who are curious about how things work and what you can do with them. His hobbies are playing baritone saxophone in an orchestra and in a big band, camping, cycling, walking the dog and reading a book. He is married and has two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter.

Iris was born in Hardenberg and raised in Coevorden, both small towns north of Enschede. She moved to Enschede about ten years ago to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Twente. After graduating in 2014 Iris obtained her teacher’s degree at the same university in 2015. She has worked at Het Stedelijk Lyceum for two years and started at IST this school year.

Iris takes a great interest in Science as a whole and enjoys teaching curious students at a personal and individual level. In her free time she enjoys horseback riding, playing the guitar, reading a book or going to a rock concert.

Letícia Giestas was born in Portugal and since a child, she always felt fascinated by natural sciences. She received a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and soon after graduating, she started working in scientific research as a junior researcher. Some time later she received a PhD with the focus in molecular devices such as biosensors, and two postdocs in the same field. In 2016, she moved to Enschede and has recently joined the IST to teach Biology.

Louis studied Biology and has taught Biology and Science in different schools. In 2011 he joined the International School Twente where he teaches his subjects in all years. He enjoys his work at IST because of the inspiring atmosphere among students and staff. Louis is a mentor teacher and organises excursions and special activities, such as a trip to nature reserve Het Aamsveen. Louis is married and has children and his motto is: ‘Wonder, investigate and wonder again.’

Marjolein is International School Twente’s (IST) enthusiastic Physical Education teacher. She feels that her PE lessons easily connect students from all over the world because they have to team up, coach and respect each other. Marjolein is a mentor teacher and she ensures that IST is able to offer many interesting sports clinics. Marjolein and her partner have two little boys and her hobbies are playing tennis, running, cycling and reading.

Nienke is from Enschede. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture, and a Master’s degree in English Literature from Radboud University. Pursuing her interest in education she completed U-TEAch, a teaching degree which focused on international and bilingual education, at Utrecht University. She lived in the UK as a student attending Sheffield University, through the Erasmus program and as a pre-service teacher at Atlantic College in Wales. In her spare time she loves to read and paint. She also visits London regularly to see family and friends.

Noel is Irish and received his university education there. He also teaches in the bilingual stream and always makes sure we have a great exchange visit with year 11 to his native Aran Islands.

Onno received his degrees from Groningen University and teaches there as well. He joined International School Twente last year and made sure the science lab practicals were intensified.

Patrick is the Physics teacher at IST. He finished Electrical Engineering at the University of Twente and worked in Indonesia for nine years at an international school near the capital. Patrick has a strong passion for his profession and this led him to getting his MSc in teaching Physics as well. He likes to show his students the wonders that nature has to offer and – through a ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’ manner – scrutinise a myriad of these wonders. In his spare time, Patrick does his utmost to enjoy the wonders of nature himself, while hanging off rock walls (bouldering), or exploring the sea (SCUBA diving). He also spends his time on the mat doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Remko obtained his degree in Physical Geography and has been teaching Geography, History, Humanities and Global Perspectives at International School Twente for 5 years. He is a mentor teacher and assists students in registering for university. He would like his students to learn to be polite and considerate to others and respect the differences between people. In his lessons, he encourages students to be inquisitive with respect to events in the world but also to be critical. ‘Your actions at school shape your future.’

Sharon Stegeman is class and education assistant at International School Twente. As well as administrative tasks, her main responsibility is to ensure that teachers and students have an area with all the facilities to make teaching and learning easier. Sharon is Dutch and was born in the Twente region.

Tom was born in Enschede and studied Chemistry at the University of Twente. He graduated in April 2017, also obtaining his teacher’s degree, and started teaching Chemistry at Het Stedelijk Lyceum in May 2017. Tom joined the ranks of IST the following school year and enjoys teaching and working with students from all over the world. He is intrigued by Chemistry as it leads to a better understanding of the world around us as atoms and their interactions are at the base of everything. In his spare time Tom enjoys listening to music and watching tv-shows.

Vincent’s love and passion for music started at a young age when LP’s would be played in his household. His musical taste varies from Bach to Rage Against The Machine. He loves teaching the next generation music because music itself is a universal language that connects and unifies people. He could not imagine a world without music.

Willem comes from Friesland, a northern province of The Netherlands with its own language. He has been an Arts teacher for over 30 years to students of all ages in a bi-lingual Dutch school. He enjoys the challenge of teaching at International School Twente as a new development and is enjoying the new approaches required by the IB Diploma Programme.