As I mentioned last week, Raymond Comvalius and I were scheduled for an ‘Inspire Me’ session at Graafschap College in Doetinchem last Friday. Our challenge was to inspire 50 High School students in their final year for their future as systems administrators.
For me, last Friday was a day I could sleep late. While normally you would find me in The Hague around 7 AM, this time around I only needed to be in Utrecht at 8:30 AM. Friday traffic in the Netherlands also meant I didn’t really have to account for much delay on the way over.
Raymond picked me up at the ‘De Uithof’ public transportation hub, where I parked the company car to charge at one of the 28 charging points available.
We drove East and soon encountered snow. Raymond and I didn’t have much snow where we live, but in the East of the Netherlands up to 4 inches of snow had fallen the previous night.
Just a couple of days before the session, Ronald Wassink told us that he had a surprise for us. This year around we weren’t scheduled in the auditorium but in the theatre around the corner, the Gruitpoort.
This is a nice little venue, with a nice lay-out and proper audio and video, although Raymond and I don’t really need microphones. 
We did a little 15-minute break after an hour and a half of slides and demos, so the guys could get a cup of coffee or tea. We then pushed on for another hour, explaining Modern Management and typical do’s and don’ts for Hybrid Identity.
Afterwards, Raymond and I enjoyed lunch with Ronald at the venue and discussed the future of systems management and educating people to make them prepared for the Continuously Integrating road that lays ahead.
What started out as a modest request after Microsoft TechDays 2014, accumulates to the fourth ‘Inspire Me’ session, four years in a row. A truly satisfying experience!
We had fun! 
Let’s do this next year, too.
Further reading
Raymond and I are inspiring a new batch of High School students again this year
Pictures of our Enterprise Mobility and Azure session at Graafschap College
Raymond and I are teaching High School students on Enterprise Mobility and Azure
Raymond and I will be inspiring a new group of High School students
Pictures of our BYOD High School session
Raymond and I will be delivering our BYOD Show to High School students
Why Lifecycle Management can’t be a mere afterthought anymore
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