To mark Volunteers’ Week 2024 which runs from 3-9 June, the University of Westminster’s Alumni Relations Office has celebrated the contribution alumni volunteers and partners make to the Westminster community by announcing their Alumni Volunteer Award winners for 2024.
The annual Alumni Volunteer Awards recognise outstanding alumni and partners who have made a big difference over the past year.
The Alumni Speaker of the Year Award went to Photography BA Honours alumna Elena Cendese and Real Estate Development MSc graduate Janniah Evans.
Elena volunteered on a What Comes Next? panel in February 2024 for recent graduates who studied on Photography and Film courses. She shared her journey as an entrepreneur and freelance photographer, emphasising the importance of seizing opportunities, staying curious and embracing creativity.
Janniah has volunteered to speak to students on the Real Estate Management MSc course on multiple occasions and this year she arranged for postgraduate students to visit Fivefields, a joint venture not-for-profit shared office space in Victoria. After a tour of the facilities Janniah produced an interactive session for the students, encouraging them to use skills from across their different modules.
The Exceptional Support for Students and Recent Graduates Award was won by Mark Sweeny, a Business Studies alumnus, and Tim Burgess, Professional Practice in Architecture PG Cert graduate.
Mark has been supporting the Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork)’s Elevate programme as a Volunteer Mentor for two years. He is passionate about giving back and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. In 2023, he mentored a graduate who founded a fashion business and even though they work in very different sectors, one in IT and Technology and the other in Fashion, Mark went above and beyond to support his mentee to develop a new revenue stream for the student’s business and travelled from Wales to have meetings in person.
Tim began his University of Westminster relationship by offering a two-week work experience opportunity to a Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) UK student studying Architecture, giving them exposure to live projects, the chance to go on site visits and the opportunity to shadow architects in the office. He has now also delivered two sessions for Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) UK.
The Going the Extra Mile Award has been given to two-time Emmy nominated Filmmaker and International Business BA Honours alumnus Momo Moussa.
Momo has regularly gone the extra mile to host Westminster students as part of the WWC Hong Kong and Cairo programmes. He made a special effort to fly from Malaysia, where he was editing a project, to meet with the WWC Hong Kong group in September 2023 on the programme's final day. Earlier this year, he also flew to Cairo from London to deliver a session to students.
Panagiotis Zmpigknief ‘’Pazbi’’ Zavatzki, Computer Games Development BSc Honours graduate, and Simbo Nuga, Professional Graduate Certificate in Education alumna, were given the Long Serving Volunteer Award.
Pazbi is the founder of Kickass Online, a Digital Marketing firm that helps small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) grow. Since graduating in 2012, he has supported Westminster students in a number of ways, through giving talks, mentoring and via his Employability Advisory Board membership. Pazbi has spoken at a range of events including departmental panel sessions, What it Takes events and Ask a Mentor group sessions.
Simbo joined the Future Ready Mentoring programme in 2021 and has supported multiple Group Mentoring programmes. With Group Mentoring taking place on campus during time-tabled teaching, Simbo has generously given her time to come in and facilitate over eight hours of mentoring. She has worked with 17 students, sharing invaluable industry knowledge, particularly on the topics of understanding strengths and weaknesses, overcoming challenges and how to effectively practice self-leadership. Simbo also supported two MBA Group Mentoring programmes, facilitating in-class mentoring sessions to help students brainstorm ideas for their business proposals and practice a Dragons Den style pitch for investors.
Finally, the Volunteer Partner Award has been awarded to Netcompany. Over the last three years the leading pan-European IT services company has played an integral role in the success of Westminster students. The organisation has provided prizes and feedback at project showcases, given valuable scholarships and supported the University’s Future Ready Mentoring programme, with currently 14 mentors registered from Netcompany. The organisation has also hosted students at their offices, giving them the opportunity to network with industry professionals, gain insights into their career journeys and broaden their understanding of potential career paths in the industry.
Speaking about the Awards, James Huke, Alumni Relations Officer, said: ‘’Congratulations to all the amazing winners. It’s great to get a chance to celebrate the achievements of our volunteers and highlight the incredible support they provide. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who dedicates their time to supporting our students and programmes and all the staff that took the time to nominate a volunteer or partner.’’
Find out more about volunteering opportunities at the University of Westminster.
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