What’s next for the Class of 2025: Lineke Spaans

“What’s next for the Class of 2025” is a series that features Lafayette grads—where they’re headed, and the mentors, resources, and experiences that inspired their future path. Read more Class of 2025 stories.

(Photo by Adam Atkinson)

By: Kelly Huth

Major/minor: International affairs with a government and law minor

Destination/future plans: Attending a three-year international politics program at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and playing club field hockey.

Involvement on campus:

Lineke Spaans ’25 says it was the field hockey program that drew her to Lafayette. “I love it very much, and I came here for that experience,” Spaans says. “It’s really special that at Lafayette, athletics are so intertwined with academics.”

Spaans says being a student-athlete is almost like having a full-time job, but in a fun way. Along with her teammates she’d spend at least 20 hours each week training, practicing, and playing field hockey.

“We won the championship last year and that was the cherry on top,” she says of the fall 2024 season.

In 2024, the midfielder was Lafayette field hockey’s first ever First Team All-American. As co-captain (2023-2024) she was named the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year (2024), earned spots on the All-Patriot League First Team (2021-2024) and All-Patriot League Tournament Team (2023, 2024). She was the 2024 Patriot League Tournament MVP and 2021 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

“Coach Jennifer Stone has been such a role model in so many ways—on the field, helping me to grow as a person, improving my leadership and communication skills, and preparing me for life after Lafayette,” Spaans says. “I’m very grateful for that.”

Mentors and experiences that mattered most: Spaans came to Lafayette undecided, but took classes on international policy, democracy, East Asian relations, and political theory, as well as globalization. Her interest in politics and diplomacy led her to major in international affairs.

A class with Prof. Angelika von Wahl, chair of international affairs, her junior year was a transformative experience for Spaans. Von Wahl knows a lot about international affairs and “has been lovely to talk with,” Spaans says. 

“I took her class Europe Between Crisis and Cooperation, and it made me understand Europe in a theoretical and historical way.” 

 Her adviser, Prof. Hannah Stewart-Gambino, encouraged her to really experience the liberal arts—taking a broad range of courses and experiences. “I’m so happy she encouraged me to do that,” Spaans says, noting it helped to refine her critical thinking on a variety of topics.

It’s one of the things that led her to take Intro to Psychology with John Shaw, associate professor. “He’s an amazing professor, and the engaging way he taught his class helped me to connect psychological concepts to current events in society.”