To mark Volunteers’ Week, the University’s Alumni Relations Team is celebrating the outstanding contribution alumni volunteers make to the Westminster community.
As of 2022, the University has 2,483 alumni volunteers. They support students in a number of ways, including taking part in Future Ready Mentoring schemes, giving careers talks, hosting events and workshops, and representing the University as international ambassadors.
To celebrate the contribution these alumni make to the Westminster community, the annual Alumni Volunteering Awards recognise five outstanding alumni and partners who have made a big difference over the past year.
This year the Alumni Speaker of the Year Award goes to Yashraj Jain who graduated from the Applied Market and Social Research MA course in 2011.
Yashraj has demonstrated his commitment to students’ employability as a member of Westminster’s Employability Advisory Boards and by volunteering as a keynote speaker for our What it Takes series. Yashraj delivered the talk ‘What it Takes to make Better Career Decisions’ from Mumbai, while India was facing the worst of the pandemic. Despite this challenging environment and the added difficulty with time difference, Yashraj still delivered an outstanding event.
The Going the Extra Mile Award is given to ‘Lola’ Jianjie Xia who graduated from the Film and Television MA course in 2015.
Lola has remotely mentored three students with our Career Mentoring programme and helped them take their first steps into their professional careers, both in the UK and China. She has also supported the Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) programmes, speaking to students about her experience as a producer in China’s creative world. Despite being based on the other side of the world, Lola has always been willing to support and inspire Westminster students.
The Exceptional Support for Students and Recent Graduates Award goes to Rajan Borkhataria, a Computer Science BSc Honours graduate.
After graduating in 2020, Rajan spent his first graduate year enthusiastically saying ‘yes’ to every volunteering opportunity put to him. As a previous WWC UK participant, Rajan was keen to speak on the programme himself and took part in multiple sessions last year. He inspired many students with honest advice learned from his career journey so far. As a recent graduate, Rajan has demonstrated admirable commitment and passion for volunteering at Westminster.
Business Management BA Honours graduate Christian Rodrigues wins the Long Serving Volunteer Award.
After graduating in 2013, Christian has been part of the mentoring community at Westminster since 2015. He has worked with a number of students, building their confidence, enhancing their vocational prospects and improving their academic outcomes. In addition, he has encouraged mentees to network with his colleagues and given tours of his workplace, so that mentees can learn more about their desired profession. Over the years, Christian has been an excellent example of a mentor whose efforts are impactful and rewarding.
The Volunteer Partner Award is awarded to Cognizant.
Cognizant has been one of our key partners, supporting all three branches of Future Ready Mentoring. In addition to their support as mentors, the Cognizant team hosted an outreach event specifically for Westminster students and graduates for International Women’s Day. The Cognizant team have gone above and beyond to help students and recent graduates understand the options available to them after they graduate, and assisting them in navigating the ever-changing job market.
Speaking about the Awards, James Huke, Alumni Relations Officer, said: “Congratulations to all the winners this year. It’s been amazing to shine a light on the incredible support our volunteers provide, and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who dedicates their time to supporting our students and programmes.”
Find out more about volunteering opportunities at Westminster.
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