Love on the JADS campus: How toasted sandwiches can change lives

The sun came out at exactly the right moment—when Stan and Cas saw each other for the first time on their wedding day, August 23, 2025. During their first look in the garden of JADS in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the clouds broke open. “It felt like it was meant to be,” Stan says. “Right there, in the place where we first met.”

This story was first published on the Tilburg University website

Stan Ruessink (28) and Cas Reugebrink (29) now live together in the city center of ’s-Hertogenbosch, but their paths first crossed about seven years ago on the campus of the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS). JADS is a collaboration between Tilburg University, Eindhoven University of Technology, the municipality of ’s-Hertogenbosch, and the province of North Brabant.

Stan originally comes from the Zwolle region and first completed a bachelor’s degree in Medical Informatics at the University of Amsterdam. Cas grew up in a small village near Zutphen and studied Psychology & Technology in Eindhoven. Both moved to ’s-Hertogenbosch for the two-year master’s program in Data Science & Entrepreneurship. “What attracted me was the combination of technology and working with companies,” Stan says. “We didn’t just learn theory; we also worked closely with organizations on real-world challenges.” Cas nods. “For me, it was exactly that: something technical, but not too technical. And JADS has such a great atmosphere, small-scale, open, a bit like a startup.”

The beginning of the Toastie Group

Stan started his program at the same time as some friends from Amsterdam. Cas also brought a few friends from Eindhoven. During the introduction week, the two groups quickly gravitated toward each other and soon merged into one group of about ten people.

“We were called ‘the Toastie Group,’” Stan laughs. “JADS was relatively new, and the cafeteria didn’t have a very extensive menu yet. But we wanted to have lunch together, so we brought our own sandwich toaster. At first it was just for ourselves, but later we even sold our toasted sandwiches to other students. We started simple with ham and cheese, and when it caught on, we tried increasingly crazy combinations—mozzarella and pesto, or sambal. At one point the whole building smelled like toasties, and we were asked to stop.”

Although the sandwich toaster was retired long ago and the entire group graduated years back, the Toastie Group still exists. “We go on vacation together every year,” Cas says. “That tradition is now called the LaSep weekend, because we always go on the last weekend of September.”

Just a drunken kiss or something more?

There was an immediate chemistry between Cas and Stan, and they became best friends. For a year they did everything together—house parties, Carnival in Oeteldonk, festivals. During a group holiday to Mallorca in 2019, something shifted. Cas: “There were ten of us in a super-luxury villa with a pool and a tennis court. One evening we made mojitos, maybe ten liters, in a huge bowl with a ladle in it. We were pretty tipsy.”

At some point, only Stan and Cas were left in the pool. Stan grins: “I jokingly ‘cornered’ him, and that’s when we kissed for the first time. After that, we both thought: this was nothing, just a drunken moment, it happens. We didn’t read anything into it and just went on with our lives as friends.”

A month-long first date in Thailand

Shortly afterward, in August 2019, the two traveled to Thailand together. “We had already booked it as best friends, so we just went,” Stan says. “But there, in the middle of the night in front of a temple, we kissed again. That’s when we started to feel there might be more.” A kind of “exploratory love” emerged. Back in the Netherlands, they started seeing each other more often, circling around one another. It wasn’t until November that they officially became a couple. “But now we tell people: for our first date, we went on a month-long vacation to Thailand.”

From best friends to partners

Cas hesitated for a moment. “I was afraid of losing my best friend if things went wrong,” he says. “Until my uncle said: ‘You’ve already come this far—can you really go back?’ Then I thought: he’s right.”

Despite everything, the Toastie Group was still surprised. Stan: “I hadn’t really come out yet, at least not to the friend group, so that made it a bit complicated. But the news of our relationship was received incredibly well. And the fact that we’re still all so close says enough—this definitely wasn’t a dealbreaker.”

Graduating during the pandemic

Stan and Cas graduated in June 2020. “Our second master’s year coincided with the COVID period—online classes, graduating remotely. Both the thesis defense and the diploma ceremony were digital,” Stan says. “A shame, but we made the best of it. And we saw each other a lot anyway—I practically lived in Cas’s student house in Eindhoven.”

After graduating in 2020, both found jobs related to their studies. Stan works as a data engineer and machine learning specialist. Cas started working as a consultant, seconded to various clients. “We’re both working on themes we learned about during our studies—that’s really great,” Stan says.

They have now lived together for almost five years, in an apartment in the center of ’s-Hertogenbosch. “We’re within walking distance of the pub,” Cas laughs. “Every year during Carnival we invite all our JADS friends. They’ve spread out all over the country, but everyone now has their own costume and emblems. Celebrating Carnival together in Oeteldonk has truly become a tradition.

The garden where it all began

Their wedding last summer symbolically brought everything together: their love, their friends, and their time at JADS. “We wanted to do the first look in the place where it all began,” Stan says. “And Lotte, whom we still knew from back then, made sure the garden could be opened. We took beautiful photos under the pear tree. After that, we moved to another monastery in Oss for the ceremony and the party. It was a wonderful day, with all our favorite people together.”

They don’t visit campus very often anymore, they say, but they do pass by regularly. “Every time, it still feels a bit like coming home,” Stan says. Cas smiles. “JADS didn’t just give us a diploma—it gave us a group of friends. And each other.”