'After a night out at Café Brandpunt, we were an item': Ronald and Dagmar found each other at the Law School

In 1989, Dagmar started her Dutch Law program in Tilburg, in 1991, Ronald started with a Tax Law program. The tutoring class, a coaching and homework course, was taught by senior students to first-year students. There, Dagmar and Ronald’s paths crossed for the first time. Dagmar: “I am almost two years older than Ronald, so I taught him. I remember it was a rowdy group, on a Friday. Ronald was regularly working with his Walkman plugged in. That helped him concentrate when he was studying, I think. I thought that was weird.”

Doppelbock beers

It was not until later, when both became members of the board of pleading association DiCiT – Dagmar as president, Ronald as treasurer – that they met again. “We organized moot courts with other universities and went on field trips to law firms,” Ronald says. They also came up with the idea of the National Speed Pleading Competitions, that continue to be organized. “We found all kinds of judges and experienced lawyers who were willing to serve as a moot court, so we could practice. Pleading associations of almost all law schools in the Nederland participated.”

Dagmar and Ronald increasingly undertook activities together, such as going to the pub. Also on that particular night in October when, in the company of their friends, they imbibed quite a few doppelbock beers in Café Brandpunt. Dagmar: “In the end, only the two of us remained and Ronald saw me home. I asked him in for a drink. His answer? ‘I’m not that thirsty.’ That was no surprise, given all that guzzling,” she smiles. “However, he did come in and we have been an item since then.”

Busy years

In the meantime, Dagmar had started in a second law program, and taught Civil Law A part-time. Ronald passed his courses in the order that suited him best. And so it happened that the last exam he needed to pass was for the second-year course taught by Dagmar. Ronald: “Actually, that worked out pretty well: I was able to test my knowledge in the days leading up to the exam and I was the guinea pig for Dagmar to try out her exam questions. The exam I took was administered by a different instructor, though.”

They both graduated in 1996, Dagmar for the second time. They both remember that they were always extremely busy in their time as students. “Dagmar taught the tutoring class and was on the board of editors of SecJure, the Law School’s magazine. I was a member of Smeetskring (a study association for students who study Tax Law-related programs at Tilburg University) and was a member of the School Council, representing student party Juristen 2000. And we were both active members of the pleading association and mentored first-years at the TIK and FIK introduction weeks,” Ronald lists their extra-curricular activities. “But actually we had lots of time for leisure activities. So it was a wonderful time!”

Betting on love

For Dagmar, studying in Tilburg was not actually the plan at all. “I lived in southern Limburg and really wanted to go to Utrecht. My dad and granddad had studied in Tilburg, so I was curious and went to the Open Day there anyway. I liked the intimacy of the campus and went to some inspiring presentations. Ultimately, I opted to go to Tilburg after all.” Ronald already lived in Tilburg, so studying there was convenient. “And both the university and the Tax Law program had good reputations. So that was a no-brainer for me.”

Tilburg may not be the most attractive of cities, but it is a very pleasant place, a real student city, though, Ronald thinks. Dagmar: “We had a wonderful time there. We still meet up with many of the friends we met there.” Ronald: “Quite a few relationships arose within our group of law student friends. But the reaction to our relationship was different: we got quite a few bets going. Since I did not have such a good reputation where relationships were concerned, nobody thought it would last.”

30 years together

They proved everybody wrong, though. In 2024, Dagmar and Ronald have been dating for 30 years. They have been married for 23 years. Directly after graduation, Dagmar became a lawyer and is a partner at law firm Boskamp & Willems. Ronald is a tax consultant and one of the shareholders of consulting and accounting firm HLB Witlox Van den Boomen. The couple live in Veldhoven, but bought their first house, in Nuenen, as early as in 1996. “People thought we had taken leave of our senses,” Dagmar says. “We graduated on a Wednesday and on Friday we bought a house. It was quite a step, but we had every confidence that it would be OK.”

Fun fact? Dagmar: “When we were studying, the new University Library was opened. It was the most modern library in Europe at the time. Present-day students will think this is so funny but we thought it was a trail-blazing library because everybody received their very own e-mail address! A lot has changed since that time. The campus is now twice the size it was back then!”

Date of publication: 18 April 2024