Life and Times of an Exam Invigilator

Exam Invigilator Leo Lagerwaard has seen it all. Yes, of course, cheating too.

“I didn’t learn anything new about human nature that I didn’t already know,” says Lagerwaard, who stepped down on Friday after watching over exams at Wittenborg since 2012.

The occasion was marked with a small gathering of his colleagues and, touchingly, two sorts of cake in a little square plastic container he brought from home.

Before joining the exam halls of Wittenborg, he worked for 42 years in the Dutch police sector, of which the first 19 was spent in uniform and then as a trainer. “After retiring, I heard Wittenborg was looking for invigilators and came in for an interview.”

He liked working with young people and in an international environment, picking up on small, sometimes barely perceptible customs from different countries.

Why is he stepping down now? “You just know when it is time. Everything has to end. You make peace with it.” In June, there is a fourth grandchild due and he wants to be there for his family. “You don’t want to be tied up in 3-week exams when they need you.”

And with that he picks up the little plastic container, puts on his jacket and says: “Doei!”

WUP 24/5/2018

by Anesca Smith
©WUAS Press