[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":180},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog:\u002Fblog\u002F2026":3,"blog-siblings:\u002Fblog\u002F2026":166},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":150,"description":151,"draft":152,"extension":153,"feedDescription":154,"guid":155,"image":156,"meta":157,"navigation":158,"path":159,"seo":160,"stem":161,"tags":162,"updated":156,"__hash__":165},"blog\u002Fblog\u002F2026.md","Class of 2026",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":143},"minimark",[9,13,23,28,31,37,68,82,103,107,110,123,140],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Yesterday was my fifth graduation ceremony at UC Odisee.",[10,14,15,16,19,20,22],{},"Before class starts again on Monday, I'd like to take some time to reflect on\nyet another generation of students whom I had the pleasure to guide, teach and see\ndevelop from pimply 18-year-olds to these amazing well-rounded adults with new hopes,\nambitions, and opinions.",[17,18],"br",{},"\nFrom their point of view, of course, they had the pleasure to see my hair fall out,\nto sigh and roll their eyes at my efforts to cringemax (oops, I did it again) my presentations,\nand to see the despair growing in my eyes.",[17,21],{},"\nPerspective matters.",[24,25,27],"h3",{"id":26},"a-special-recognition","A special recognition",[10,29,30],{},"I give a required course in the first and third year of our bachelor,\nno student can escape me, and I can't escape them. So it's hard to mention every student of the class of 2026 who made an impact during\nour time together. Really! I'm not just saying that because of the debilitating fear that\nI might forget to mention someone. I inevitably will.",[10,32,33,34,36],{},"Sometimes it's easy.",[17,35],{},"\nAnd this year again, it's clear that my students of Web Topics Advanced\n(:last-of-type) deserve a shoutout.",[10,38,39,46,47,52,53,55,56,61,62,67],{},[40,41,45],"a",{"href":42,"rel":43},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fantje-meiresonne\u002F",[44],"nofollow","Antje Meiresonne"," for consistent hard work and\ncreativity. ",[40,48,51],{"href":49,"rel":50},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fkilian-leroy-a626741a3\u002F",[44],"Kilian Leroy"," for his",[17,54],{},"\namazing growth as a student and his eagerness to slap\nMichiel in the face (more on that later).\n",[40,57,60],{"href":58,"rel":59},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fjelle-fauconnier-ba143a268\u002F",[44],"Jelle Fauconnier",",\nperhaps the brightest of the bunch, albeit also the quietest. And, of course,\n",[40,63,66],{"href":64,"rel":65},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fart-van-der-vennet-8a9944267\u002F",[44],"Art - ponycamp - Van der Vennet","\nwho surpasses me in humor, wit, and critical thinking.",[10,69,70,71,73,74,76,77,81],{},"BUT. There's more.",[17,72],{},"\nHigher education is not always easy, nor completed in a straight line.",[17,75],{},"\nGiven my own meandering academic career, I've never been one to judge.\nAnd yet I think that that's perhaps one of the hardest parts of my job: ",[78,79,80],"em",{},"judge",".\nJudge the work delivered, judge the effort, judge the earnestness of excuses, judge\nwhether JavaScript really is the most important part of a student's life (it is, it always is).",[10,83,84,85,90,91,96,97,102],{},"So ",[40,86,89],{"href":87,"rel":88},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Favkaran-sarminder-497323375\u002F",[44],"Avkaran Sarminder",",\n",[40,92,95],{"href":93,"rel":94},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fquinten-conil-065438372\u002F",[44],"Quinten Conil",",\nand ",[40,98,101],{"href":99,"rel":100},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fluca-vandenweghe-02a953197\u002F",[44],"Luka Vandenweghe",",\nthank you. Thank you for your words during the reception.\nThank you for being the amazing, kind-hearted people you are.",[24,104,106],{"id":105},"why-kilian-will-slap-michiel-in-the-face","Why Kilian will slap Michiel in the face",[10,108,109],{},"Last year I could continue what had been becoming a tradition:\npromoting a bachelor thesis about data ownership and interoperability.\nAnother :last-of-type, bachelor theses have been scrapped from our curriculum.",[10,111,112,113,118,119,122],{},"But it's not just the last one. It's one I could copromote with ",[40,114,117],{"href":115,"rel":116},"https:\u002F\u002Fpietercolpaert.be\u002F",[44],"Pieter Colpaert",",\none that exceeded even my expectations, and one which has a genuine chance of winning the ",[78,120,121],{},"Vlaamse Scriptieprijs","!",[10,124,125,126,131,132,136,137,139],{},"Provided... ",[40,127,130],{"href":128,"rel":129},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fmichiel-van-de-velde-1a9962388\u002F",[44],"Michiel Van de Velde","\nfinally gets off his arse and ",[133,134,135],"strong",{},"submits his thesis",".",[17,138],{},"\nThe pressure is on. One of the benefits of a graduation ceremony with reception\nis the presence of champagne and its effect on the freshly graduated mind.\nDuring his last moments of glee and nostalgia for a time gone by,\nMichiel agreed to endure physical violence at the hands of a very ecstatic-looking Kilian Leroy\nshould he fail to submit his thesis by Monday.",[10,141,142],{},"I neither condone nor encourage violence between students. But, Michiel,\nif you deny me my chance of winning that prize by proxy... I hope it hurts ;)",{"title":144,"searchDepth":145,"depth":145,"links":146},"",2,[147,149],{"id":26,"depth":148,"text":27},3,{"id":105,"depth":148,"text":106},"2026-09-19","Or why Kilian Leroy will slap Michiel in the face.",false,"md","Or why Kilian Leroy will slap Michiel in the face","https:\u002F\u002Fctrlaltderlue.be\u002Fblog#Class-of-2026",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002F2026",{"title":5,"description":151},"blog\u002F2026",[163,164],"Education","Personal","fhFmwX3CS3bUo--DCLXyOY-UGR73LOGwBjIhSOGRljQ",[167,168,172,176],{"path":159,"title":5,"date":150},{"path":169,"title":170,"date":171},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilders-and-dreamers","Builders and Dreamers","2026-06-24",{"path":173,"title":174,"date":175},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsmall-shout-out-to-my-students","A Small Shout-Out to My Students","2025-01-23",{"path":177,"title":178,"date":179},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmore-to-come","More to Come","2025-01-02",1789891579958]