By Becky Tomas, 24 March 2026
During the spring of 2023, fresh from the coma of the pandemic, I decided to pursue a new career in proofreading and copy editing. I stumbled upon SENSE and was pleased to find that in a month’s time the annual General Meeting (AGM) would take place!
On the day of the AGM I made my way to Utrecht, and was delighted to discover a lovely group of language professionals whose friendly and inquisitive nature made me feel very much at home straight away.
A vacancy was announced at the start of the meeting for a new ‘SIG and Social Events Coordinator (SSEC)’. I knew immediately that putting myself forward for this role would be a great way to get to know other members, and help me find my feet in this new world of the language industry.
Getting to know the different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and their conveners was interesting. Everyone had a slightly different approach to organizing their SIG and it was fascinating to learn about the different topics being discussed, and about the wide range of fields in which SENSE members were involved.
My first event as SSEC was a wet and windy day in Utrecht, enjoying a guided tour of historic remains beneath the Dom Tower in Utrecht, a story which spans the last 2000 years. I wrote a blog post about it then.
That day at lunch we chatted some more and it was great to chat to my fellow SENSE members and find out more about their personal lives and interests. I discovered that my SENSE comrades are a diverse and entertaining group of people!
During my tenure as SSEC, I enjoyed organizing both Winter and Summer Socials, with a varied and fun line-up of activities.
We enjoyed a magic show in Amsterdam in January 2024, during which Sieko left us slack-jawed in disbelief at his thrilling tricks! We also had a wonderful Summer Social in 2024, with a guided tour around Hortus Botanicus, the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, followed by a delicious lunch at a nearby cafe.
In January 2025 I enlisted the help of fellow SENSE member Lizzie Kean, and together we planned a ‘surprise schedule of entertainment’ at In De Ruimte in Utrecht. We had a delicious pasta dinner, and we invited a ceilidh band who managed to get everyone dancing! It was so much fun. Later on that evening Lizzie led everyone in a communal singalong with piano accompaniment.
One year and a couple of social events later I decided it was time to hand over the reins to the next SENSE member, and step down as SSEC, and as a member of SENSE. I’ve had a wonderful time, learnt a lot and met a lot of friendly and interesting people, but my attempt at a new career in language was not as successful as I’d hoped.
The next person taking on the role will have a lot of fun (if you are interested, please reach out at
|
Blog post by: Becky Tomas |
