I'm a coach specialized in unlocking the power of giftedness and the endless potential that comes with it.
But that's not all I do. Because, just like you, I have a billion different passions and interests I pursue.
I'm also a researcher, a speaker, a writer, an artist, a musician, an adventurer, an Antarctica expedition guide (yes, you read that right), and the list goes on...
I'm Simone
I'm on an unstoppable mission to help gifted minds like you tap into that
inner rebel voice that whispers: 'I'm capable of so much MORE.'
I'm here to help you fulfill your highest potential.
To support you in setting your own course...
Because that's what smart rebels do.
As cliche as this sounds . . .
It's true!
Here's the 'Official' Bio...
Simone Eringfeld is a giftedness coach, researcher, artist, author, and speaker from the Netherlands. Through her company The Smart Rebel, she coaches some of the smartest people in the world.
Simone is currently undertaking a Gates Foundation-funded PhD in Polar Studies at the University of Cambridge (UK). She seasonally travels to Antarctica as a researcher, lecturer and outdoor guide. Simone also holds a master's degree in Education from the University of Cambridge and has produced award-winning research on the impact of Covid on higher education. She has designed novel research methods and released a data music album, with which she went on tour. Simone has over twenty publications to her name and frequently gives keynotes at conferences.
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Between 2016 and 2019, Simone completed three full-time BA degrees simultaneously in three years' time, with cum laude results. This unique accomplishment received wide media coverage in the Netherlands and sparked a parliamentary debate about increasing support for gifted students.
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Simone holds a BA in Philosophy (University of Amsterdam), a BA in Literary & Cultural Studies (University of Amsterdam) and a BSc in International Relations (University of London). She also formally studied arts and humanities in Barcelona (Metafora Institute), Berlin (Bard College Berlin) and New York City (The New School).
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From a very young age, I've had an insatiable hunger for knowledge. Even the highest piles of books couldn't satisfy my appetite. But at school, I felt like a misfit, turning my passion for learning into shame.
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I cannot begin to count the times I've doubted myself: 'what's wrong with me?' 'Why do I feel so different from my peers?' 'Why am I demotivated all the time?', and my favorite: 'Am I not actually just really stupid?'
I'VE HAD TEACHERS CALL ME 'TOO DIFFICULT', 'TOO CRITICAL', 'TOO AMBITIOUS', AND, QUITE FRANKLY, TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING.
I've known times where I'd cry myself to sleep each night because I couldn't face the isolation anymore. I've known times where I'd build up so much frustration during the day that I needed to walk two hours each evening to calm myself back down.
I was so traumatized by school, that something had to change
My name is Simone Eringfeld. I've been bullied. I've been depressed. I've felt lonely. I've been kicked out of classes and skipped a lot of school. I've been a college drop-out.
I stopped trying to make myself fit into the system and began to set my own course instead. So, at age fifteen, I began to attend university to study Philosophy. I negotiated with my school principal to decrease the time I had to spend in class. At age sixteen, I organized a study-abroad experience in Spain, even though several teachers opposed my plan.
Dissatisfied with how foreign languages were taught (mostly through grammar books, which I found boring), I started my own international language cafe, and got the city council and several universities to collaborate with me. The project became a thriving success with hundreds of participants.
EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, I ENCOUNTERED OPPOSITION.
YET I BEGAN TO SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE WHEN I TAP INTO MY INNER REBEL.
After surviving high school (and I don't mean that as a metaphor), I was determined to never *ever* study again. Instead, I used the savings I had earned working as a music teacher to see more of the world. I spent a year traveling in Spain, Morocco and Latin-America. I even managed to get myself onto a ship to Antarctica; a life-changing experience.
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The following year, I moved to Barcelona to attend arts school. A whole new world opened up to me and I discovered that - contrary to what I had believed thus far - I was deeply creative. So I painted, sculpted and performed like my life depended on it.
At this point in my life, I wanted nothing other than to become an artist. So I moved to Berlin (all the wanna-be artists were moving to Berlin) and enrolled in a liberal arts degree that seemed perfect. Finally, I'd decided to give studying another go.
From the outside, people see a track-record of success.
What they don't see is my struggles behind the scenes.
Guess what? I hated it
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Sailing turned out not be my ideal career (silly secret: I get sea sick!). But I did decide on that journey to give studying one more chance. This time round, however, I played by my own rules and set myself the ultimate challenge of doing not one but three degrees in three years' time. Many study advisers urged me NOT to do this, but I didn't listen (thank God!).
I fell back into a heavy depression to the point that I became physically ill with unhappiness. I didn't receive enough stimulation, so my gifted brain went into proper 'bore-out' mode. After one semester, I dropped out and felt like a failure all over again.
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I came up with a new plan. I left uni and decided to... become a sailor. Yes, you heard that right. A sailor. Here's a picture of me sailing the Atlantic ocean. Just to show you how many different interests I have.
The 'Unofficial' Bio
Three years later, I graduated with triple Bachelors and cum laude results. My life was forever changed, because by unleashing the power of my giftedness, I had discovered the truly grand things I am capable of.
WHAT MY SISTER SAYS ABOUT ME:
"Whenever Simone visits us, we often joke: "look, the philosopher is back!" Because suddenly, we're having all these 'deep' kinds of conversations at the dinner table, about the meaning of life or whatever (*virtual eye roll*).
She's really bad at smalltalk."
Jasmijn
Simone's sister
Some numerical facts about me
1287
4
43
6
11
Number of Careers I've considered
Number of university degrees
Number of Countries I've travelled
Number of languages I speak
Number of Existential crises I've survived
Things I do besides coaching
I am currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Cambridge, in the field of Polar Studies. I research acoustic ecologies in Arctic and Antarctic regions. This is where I get to combine my intellectual interests with my artistic side, and my adventurous spirit, as I get to travel to remote polar regions in the Arctic and Antarctica. I am also an educationist, and have produced award-winning research on the future of higher education after Covid-19. At the University of Cambridge, I wrote an MPhil thesis on how students and academics at the Faculty of Education reimagined the post-Covid University. For this project, I developed podcasting as its principal research method. With this work, I won the British Educational Research Association's Master's Dissertation Award.
I have published academic articles in high-impact journals, chapters in edited books, and I am currently working on a book about sonic research methods. View my personal website for a list of publications.
Music & Podcasting
I am a musician, spoken word artist and podcaster who fuses her creative sound-based work with research and scholarship.
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Specifically, I use the medium of podcasting as a research method and practice. As part of my award-winning thesis on the future of post-Covid education, I produced the podcast 'Cambridge Quaranchats'.
I have led workshops about sonic research methods at, amongst others, the University of Cambridge, the Judge Business School, and the University of Plymouth.
In 2021, I released my debut EP 'Please Hold', which simultaneously serves as a presentation of research results. The lyrics of each spoken word track are composed out of quotes taken from interviews with Cambridge students and academics during Covid.
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During Fall 2021, I went on tour in the UK, with performances at over 15 different venues.
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Tracks of the album were played on BBC Radio and NPO Radio 1.
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The official website of the album: www.simoneeringfeld.hearnow.com
Writing & Speaking
I love to write: from academic journal articles and book chapters about my research to opinion pieces for newspapers, blogs, and even poetry.
My writing has been published by media as wide-ranging as Times Higher Education, NRC Handelsblad, Het Parool, De Telegraaf, VAINE Magazine, and the Higher Education Policy Institute. Visit my personal website (www.simoneeringfeld.com) to find my full portfolio.
Public speaking is one of the things that gets me most easily into an inspired state of flow. I regularly deliver keynotes and invited talks at conferences and events. I speak on a range of topics, including: giftedness and talent development, educational attainment, sonic research methods, data music, podcasting and research communication.
I've been an invited speaker at, amongst many others, the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University of Coimbra, Glasgow School of Arts, University of Edinburgh, Sheffield Methods Institute, Netwerk HB Congres, en De Amsterdamse Conferentie Begaafdheid.
To book me as a speaker for your event, please get in touch.
* I speak and write in English and Dutch. Bookings are possible for both *
Fun facts about me
1. I was born and raised in the Netherlands but left when I was 18. I've since lived in 7 different countries. Currently, I'm based in Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.
2. I'm an adventurous foodie and will literally try anything. The weirdest thing I've eaten is smashed beetle paste in Thailand... Yummy?
3. I wrote my first book when I was ten. My grandmother had given me the movies about Sisi, Kaiserin von Österreich. I became obsessed and spent a year researching her life.
4. I'm a huge fan of spending time outdoors. Whenever I get the chance, I'm putting on my hiking boots to trek into the mountains, or head to the beach.
5. I love swimming in cold water. Which is weird because I hate cold showers... The coldest temperature I ever dealt with was 0,6 Celsius during a polar plunge in Antarctica!
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