Kevin, the helpful and funny partner who went back to school. I, Isabeau a working student at b.ignited, did not know Kevin enough to draft an article on my own, so I looked for some help and found that help in Kevin’s partner, Kirsten. And all this, without Kevin knowing anything about it.

Kevin and Kirsten have been together for a long time, and they recently bought a house together. So, Kirsten knows better than anyone what kind of person Kevin is.

When asking Kirsten for the 3 words that best describe Kevin, she immediately tells me that he is helpful, funny, and a social person. Another thing that has certainly not escaped her is his innovative way of solving problems. He always looks for the easiest solutions to problems, a trait that comes in handy in the IT world. With a laugh, Kisten said, "You might take it as lazy, but he will definitely look for the solutions to solve everyday problems quickly.”

How these qualities reflect in his work is a bit difficult for Kirsten to tell. "Probably, his helpful and social side will be a big plus at his workplace. Kevin told me that he had to train a co-worker, I am sure he did that incredibly good," says Kisten. "He can be very social, but he probably needed some time to fully blossom,” she adds.

Going back to school and working for b.ignited

Before Kevin started at b.ignited, he dropped out of school. Kirsten tells us that Kevin was really trying to find his way and when he was hired by b.ignited, she immediately felt that he had found a good employer. “From the moment Kevin started at b.ignited, the managing partner Patrick urged Kevin to go back to school. Kevin finally (😊) listened and is now studying again, all while working at b.ignited. Even though it is busy for him, I can feel that he found his way. I really support this decision and will always support Kevin.”

What about work-life balance?

At b.ignited we value the balance between work and life. But how do others experience this? Kirsten had a clear answer: “There is a good balance between work and our personal life, Kevin has the possibility to work at home or in the office. With him going back to school, the evening classes take up a lot of his time, but for our future I can only see this as a positive thing.”

In order to always provide our colleagues with sufficient challenge, we try to offer interesting projects. After two and a half years working for LCM (Landsbond der Christelijke Mutualiteiten), Kevin switched to the ‘Haven Van Antwerpen’. “This change was good for Kevin, both in terms of atmosphere and the distance from home,” tells Kirsten.

And the atmosphere at b.ignited?

Doing things together, not only working, but also learning and doing fun stuff, is important for us to strengthen the internal bond between colleagues. But what does the family of our colleagues think of it? Kirsten says: “The atmosphere within b.ignited can be described as friendly, fun, and sociable. There are also nice activities where partners can join. Like the dinner in the Michelin-starred restaurant ‘Vintage’, which I will never forget. Everyone is so nice, and Patrick really cares to get to know everyone. He is a really committed boss.”

If we conclude, we see that Kevin is really the person that Kirsten describes at work: sociable, helpful, and friendly. And at home? Kristen tells us that he likes to cook, and then eats the tasty food that he prepared! He also likes learning, and with the support of both Kirsten and b.ignited, he will soon have completed his degree.