Bente Marit Captijn will graduate today with a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc(Hons)). Bente, who is Autistic , has enjoyed being an ambassador for Otago’s Disability Information & Support (DIS) team during her studies, which was a way to give back for all the support she received, she says.
For graduand Bente Marit Captijn, having a personal philosophy beats having a five-year plan any day.
“My philosophy is basically, I’ll end up where I’m happy eventually, because if I’m not happy, I’ll just keep moving forward,” she says.
It’s a philosophy that’s worked well for her so far, with Bente very happily graduating today with a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc(Hons)).
“I’ve always been interested in health but knew that Medicine wasn’t quite for me,” she says.
“I started off with Health Sciences First Year, after which I started a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences hoping it would lead to a job in a lab. Then I discovered that there is a degree for that! So, in my third year of Uni, I switched to a BMLSc.
“I really enjoyed it and I loved all of the papers as well as the staff. The class is quite small, so you get to know everyone well and, especially in the third and fourth year, there is a lot of hands-on lab work that prepares you super well for the job.”
Her course wasn’t the only thing that changed during her time at Otago. She also experienced some serious personal growth.
“I’m so happy with the person I’m growing into, in a way first-year me could have never predicted.”
Bente, who is originally from the Netherlands, moved to Aotearoa in 2012 with her parents and three siblings, eventually settling in Tapanui in West Otago and attending Blue Mountain College.
In her final year of high school, she pursued and received an Autism diagnosis, which was a relief, she says.
“It made things make a lot of sense. But I also got quite worried about going to Uni, knowing that many of my coping skills wouldn’t necessarily be applicable, and that there were many more challenges I would have to find my way around.”
“I’m so happy with the person I’m growing into, in a way first-year me could have never predicted.” – Bente Marit Captijn
And while there were challenges – think overwhelming first-year lecture theatres and Covid lockdowns – they were far outweighed by the positives.
“I almost instantly made some amazing friends at my hall [the former Te Rangihīroa College] and having them around – still to this day – has been amazing.”
It was through talking to a sub-warden at her College that Bente became aware of the Disability Information & Support (DIS) team, which proved to be another enduring relationship during her time at Otago.
“They helped me so much. Things like having low-distraction rooms for my exams and learning from previous students’ experiences helped me find my own flow and made me into the pretty confident student I am today.
“In first year, access to student-written notes also helped me so much. It meant I was able to focus on the lecturer and what they were saying rather than attempting to write notes and having to rewatch the lecture later because I missed half of the content. It also taught me what note-writing techniques work for me and made studying much easier."
Bente Marit Captijn’s cat Roos has been her buddy throughout her studies and was always there to supervise, which Roos believed was highly necessary at all times. Roos was also well-known to Bente's classmates for being around in any zoom meetings and Bente always added a picture of her to the end of her presentations.
Being on the receiving end of these kinds of supports served as a strong motivator for Bente to offer support back to her fellow tauira.
“In my third year, DIS asked if I would be willing to be a DIS tutor for a second-year Physiology paper, which I was more than happy to do.”
From there Bente began to help out in more ways, including presenting for future students as someone who had received support from DIS, and also helping the team out at the O’Week open day.
“There were a lot of questions. Some students knew exactly what support they needed and just wanted to check it was possible. Other students just wanted a rough idea of what to expect, both with DIS and from the University as a whole, which I really get. I like having a mental image of what I can expect beforehand, so it was great being able to help the students here.
“I’m very open about my experiences and happy to talk about them, and I’ve really enjoyed being part of so many projects and things, especially knowing that I’m helping students in the same way that DIS helped me.”
One of the main projects Bente was part of was appearing in an exam supervisor training video for DIS, which was an “awesome” experience, she says.
“As a student I’d noticed some differences in the way different supervisors were trained, sometimes leading to some slight frustration around the exams, so firstly knowing what it would be used for and knowing that it would be super helpful was amazing.
“Also, I had no idea how these kinds of videos were made, and it was so cool to be a part of it. We had to film things multiple times, with different angles and having a closeup vs wide shot etc... Lots of giggles were had because we weren’t 100 per cent sure what we were doing. I had a very hard time keeping a straight face.”
When she wasn’t studying or being an ambassador for DIS, Bente was up for trying new things, both at University and beyond.
“I’ve gone to the Archery Club and Boardgames Club, organised a Team Red blood donation for my MELS class, and also did things like a ‘learn to ice skate’ course with my friend Maia.”
She also got to spend time with her family, though finding time for “proper” family holidays has been harder as everyone grows up, she says.
Bente Marit Captijn, pictured here learning to drive a forklift, embraced many opportunities during her time at Otago, both within the University community and beyond.
“We decided that we really like having experiences together and doing new things. For my dad’s birthday this year we went curling, we’ve done a few escape rooms, and in October I got forklift certified with my dad and brothers (which kind of started as an inside joke). It was too cool and we had such a great time together.”
Bente will celebrate her graduation with her family, with one particular family member making an extra special appearance.
“My grandma, who I haven’t seen since the start of 2021, is visiting from the Netherlands. I would’ve never imagined I could have her here for this and she is so happy she could make it, so it’s been really nice.
“My family are all attending my ceremony, and afterwards we’re ‘gourmetten’ for dinner, which is like cooking on hot plates. It’s a very social dinner that we do on special occasions.
“I think everyone – very much including myself – is excited to see my hard work pay off, and to be able to celebrate it together.”
As for the future, Bente hopes to continue studying, but she may also start working and there’s even talk of a trip to the Netherlands to catch up with friends and family.
“I’ll just see where things take me,” she says philosophically.
– Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson
Te Pokapū Hāpai Huka Hauā
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