Category: Bristol Volunteers

Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2023: Gowri Shankar (MSc 2012)

Posted on by Grace

For Volunteers’ Week 2023, we’re celebrating our incredible Bristol Volunteers who give their experience, advice and time to support our students and alumni community.

Gowri Shankar Sivabala (MSc 2012) is the founder of SpaceNXT Labs, an innovation start-up specialising in industrial design and technology, and is a mentor for entrepreneurial start-ups around the world. Based in Sri Lanka, he studied an MSc in Integrated Aerospace Systems Design at Bristol and now supports current students through the online platform Bristol Connects. We hear from Gowri Shankar about his experience as a volunteer. (more…)

Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2023: Savannah Coombe (MSc 2023)

Posted on by Grace

For Volunteers’ Week 2023 we’re celebrating our amazing volunteers who have given their time, insights, and expertise to support our students and alumni community.

International student Savannah Coombe (MSc 2023) is Deputy Editor of Bristol-based non-profit communication agency Resource Media, which champions resource efficiency and sustainability, and she also holds the position of Chairperson of the Badock Hall Association.

Savannah shares with us her experiences as a student in Badock Hall, working on the UoB student newspaper Epigram, her career as a journalist, and what being a volunteer means to her. (more…)

Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2023: Sarauniya Shehu (LLB 2016)

Posted on by Grace

For Volunteers’ Week 2023, we’re celebrating our incredible Bristol Volunteers who give their experience, advice and time to support our students and alumni community.

Sarauniya Shehu (LLB 2016) studied Law and is now Public Affairs Manager at the National Housing Federation. As a volunteer for the Bristol Mentors programme, she reflects on the value of mentoring and why she finds it so rewarding. (more…)

Celebrating the success of Bristol Mentors

Posted on by sophie.davison

An enormous thank you to alumni and students who have participated in the Bristol Mentors programme this year. We were delighted to have many of you get together for our Bristol Mentors Thank You event last month, to celebrate the contributions of our alumni volunteers and the students who have been paired in the last academic year.

Bristol Mentors is an alumni volunteering programme where students from underrepresented groups are matched with a Bristol graduate who acts as their mentor. Mentors work with mentees to help them with their career development and provide support which can enhance their university experience. (more…)

Your 2022 – 2023 Alumni Association Committee

Posted on by Ellie

The Alumni Association Committee helps to champion and support Bristol’s alumni community by working in partnership with alumni, the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) and the wider University. Committee members provide expert advice, strategic insight and act as ambassadors for the University and its alumni.  ‌

This year, three new members will join our 2022 – 2023 committee: Fred Moss (BA 2013), Vona Aghoghovbia Ezichi (BSc 2005) and Harri Davies (LLB 2013). Jonathan Phillips (BSc 1994) will remain as Chair for a second term to 2025. Read their bios below to learn more about them.

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‘We walk together’: sharing city and culture with Bristol Voices

Posted on by Sarah

The Bristol Voices programme matches students new to Bristol with members of our alumni community to help them familiarise with their surroundings. Students learn more about the city and their University and our volunteers learn a lot, in turn!

Claire Nuttall (BSc 1983), who was linked with two students from China, shares her experience as a Bristol Voices volunteer.

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Spring Showcase 2022: Dig into a weekend of fascinating events

Posted on by Sarah

A skeleton of a T-Rex dinosaur

Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the Bristol Alumni Network presents the Spring Showcase 2022, which will take place from 18 to 19 March 2022. During the weekend you’ll be able to take part in a series of digital events which all celebrate digging and dinosaurs. 

You’ll hear from the School of Earth Science’s Professor Mike Benton (OBE, FRS FRSE), who will introduce the science behind dinosaur biology. He’ll be joined by Tim Haines, the BAFTA-award-winning maker of the 1999 BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs, who will be speaking about how filmmakers have brought dinosaurs to life on our screens over the years.    (more…)

Alexandra Hearth (BA 2014): Succeeding in the digital world

Posted on by Asli

Bristol alumna, Alexandra Hearth (BA 2014) is a young powerhouse bursting with ambition, discipline and creativity. She is an extremely successful digital marketing specialist, having worked with top brands including Uber, British Airways and Audi. Alongside her current role at Nike, she manages her own online magazine called Cleaopatras which explores navigating success as a woman, and runs a podcast series called Hot Girls featuring MOBO award winning guests and music industry elite. To top it all off, this year, Alexandra has signed her first record deal as a music producer.

We interviewed her to learn more about her career journey, the secrets to her success and communicating in the digital world. (more…)