On Friday 2 October, the Gravenzaal at Haarlem City Hall filled up with graduation caps, and a lot of smiley and proud faces. Our first ever Bachelor's cohort was graduating.
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They started with us in 2022 as the pioneers of our Business Psychology, Creative Media and Digital Transformation Management programmes. Nobody had walked that path before them. They learned from us, and we learned a great deal from them too. Their open feedback helped us become a better campus for every student who came after them.
So this was never going to be just another graduation day.
A city, a keynote, and a word that stayed with us
Our Managing Director, Marijn Leijten, opened the event by welcoming the graduates, the people this whole day was for. He was soon joined on stage by Bas van Leeuwen, Haarlem's Deputy Mayor for Education, Youth and Finance, for a conversation about what international students bring to the city.
Then Patrick Mombaur, CEO of SRH Holding, stepped up for his keynote. He spoke from the heart about empathy, and why it will only grow in importance as AI takes over parts of our work. The smarter our tools get, the more the human side counts. For a group about to step into that future, it was the right message at the right moment.
In their own words
And then came the part many of us will remember longest.
Sophia Dienemann, Jennifer Bridden and Kateryna Pomynalna took the stage to tell their story. They talked about the hard moments as well as the good ones, the struggles along the way, and how much they had grown since day one. For those of us who had watched them arrive four years ago, it was hard to hold it together.
Sophia, Jennifer, Kateryna: thank you for being so open with all of us. For sharing what you will remember, and what made your journey special, beyond the degree.
Diplomas, tassels and hats in the air
Our Academic Director, Thomas Meijer, then hosted a lively Q&A session with programme directors Ian Strik, Richard Holland, and Max Valenkamp, before the official part of the day began.
One by one, the graduands crossed the stage to receive their diploma. Then, they moved their tassels from right to left, the ritual that marks the passage from graduand to graduate. A second later, the hats were flying towards the ceiling of the Gravenzaal, the historic Counts' Hall of Haarlem City Hall.
To the Class of 2026
A warm thank you to Bas van Leeuwen and the City of Haarlem, to Patrick Mombaur, and to all the speakers, lecturers and staff who made this day possible. And to the families and friends who stood behind our students every step of the way.
Now our graduates head off into work, further study, or whatever comes next. We can't wait to see where they go. Wherever that is, there will always be a place for them here.
Congratulations, Class of 2026. You were the first, and you made it count.
We are so proud of you!
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