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Alumni
At the heart of the College’s alumni engagement programme is the opportunity for the UWCSEA community to remain connected—with each other, with the UWC movement and with the ideals of the mission—by encouraging life-long connections and mutually beneficial relationships. UWCSEA alumni are invited to get involved and give back in many ways. The Alumni Relations team continued to offer opportunities for our network of alumni around the world to stay connected with the College through events and communication services including e-newsletters, the website and the publication of the 17th edition of One°North magazine.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: ALUMNI RELATIONS STRATEGY
A new Alumni Relations Strategy and accompanying mission statement were developed at the start of the 2020/2021 school year to guide the transition into a new era of alumni engagement. The aim is to leverage the talent and skills of our alumni, many of whom are ripe for more active engagement, by increasing opportunities for their collaboration with College staff and community members. The strategy also streamlines processes to create more effective and mission-aligned alumni programmes that stimulate engagement and foster giving back in meaningful ways. This new strategy consists of five principle objectives: 1. Transition from a service delivery model of alumni relations to an active engagement model 2. More fully integrate alumni relations into the life of the UWCSEA Community 3. Engage alumni in professional programming activities to add value to their lives at all stages and to strengthen their connection to UWCSEA 4. Develop a culture of philanthropy within the UWCSEA Alumni Community 5. Develop appropriate fit-for-purpose systems and processes to support programme delivery and relationship management Progress in this first year included laying the groundwork for our first virtual and largest Milestone Reunion to date. This included the establishment of a Milestone Reunion Committee composed of Class Representatives and Class Giving Ambassadors; research, training and acquisition of a dedicated virtual event platform and the development of a robust programme of events. We look forward to reporting on the success of this event in next year’s report. This transition to the world of online events also saw the successful delivery of a series of virtual regional reunions targeting alumni living in Australia, Singapore, India, the UK, Europe and two in North America; the launch of our first Regional Alumni Chapter in Hong Kong and creation of a virtual campus tour. Behind the scenes research and planning was done in preparation for the launch of a new online alumni networking platform that will bring together our community of alumni, staff and select students to foster engagement, strengthen connection and create informal mentorship relationships.
Alumni Relations Mission Statement Building on the unique UWCSEA student experience, our purpose is to actively engage with alumni to foster mutuallybeneficial relationships with College and with each other. Employing strategic storytelling, authentic relationships and positive community-building we will develop and deliver events and experiences that address the intellectual, social and professional aspirations of our alumni and foster the many ways in which alumni can give back to the UWCSEA community.
Engagement
14,648
Contactable alumni
68% of total alumni Careers and University Mentoring
68
Alumni participants in University and Careers Week events
993
University mentors
290
Universities represented by alumni mentors
135
Countries in which alumni are located
Albania; Argentina; Armenia; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bolivia; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cayman Islands; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dutch Caribbean; Egypt; El Salvador; Estonia; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Faroe Islands; Fiji; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jersey; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kuwait; Laos; Lebanon; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macao; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Malta; Marshall Islands; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Morocco; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russia; Rwanda; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia and Montenegro; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; South Africa; South Korea; South Sudan; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Tanzania; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Trinidad and Tobago; Turkey; Turks and Caicos Islands; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uruguay; Venezuela; Vietnam; Virgin Islands; Zimbabwe
Reunion events
10
Alumni reunion events worldwide
367
Attendees at alumni events worldwide
22
Countries in which alumni attending online reunion events were located
In August 2020, 10 members of the UWCSEA Class of 2020 began a placement in the East Campus Alumni Internship Programme. This was the third year of the programme, which began as a series of ad hoc gap year and work experience placements. After the initial trial period, the internships were formalised into a more structured programme, which trains alumni interns to support students in their learning by working under the direction of Heads of Departments in learning environments across the College. Alternatively, interns may work with members of the administrative staff on campus to learn more about educational administration and operations. Participants have the unique opportunity to spend some time at school in a completely different capacity, learning new skills and gaining valuable insights to support their further education and careers. While the idea came from alumni themselves, it grew in collaboration with the College, with a number of students asking to spend time on campus engaging in practical learning and supporting the community in between graduation and going to College. Driven by a mix of motivations - some thought of careers in education; others loved a specific subject and wanted to immerse themselves in it further before going on to university; others saw the value of picking up highly practical skills which would be transferable and directly useful in future. The alumni interns worked across the East Campus in departments including biology, geography, drama, economics, psychology, English, Spanish, food science, sport science, physical education, admissions and activities. Most worked the full school day and many contributed above and beyond school hours making valuable contributions to the Activities, Service and Outdoor Education programmes. As such, the precise nature of the internship varies according to the specific departmental needs and alumni interests making it a win-win scenario for the College and for the interns. Dover Campus has also offered an informal internship programme to many alumni over the years. In the 2020/2021 year, five alumni interns supported a number of projects and departments across the campus including: • Sustainability projects, including working on a sustainability mapping project • Languages Department including the helping to coordinate a language buddy programme for the Home Languages Programme • Outdoor Education programme support • Departmental support and projects in the High School Film, Art and Dance Departments There are plans to launch a formalised Alumni Internship Programme at Dover Campus in the 2021/2022 school year.
Hermann Klein-Hessling ‘20 I enjoy teaching and tutoring and have done so in various subjects since Grade 9. I felt that experience with larger classes as opposed to one-to-one teaching would be a great opportunity for me. I learned to balance my instruction based on the varying levels of student ability and also tried my best to use my young age as an advantage in keeping students engaged in our classes and with our subject material. I can see myself tutoring other students in university to finance my studies and since I intend on going to graduate school in STEM, I think being a teaching assistant for undergraduate classes will be an experience I will enjoy. Hermann was the only Dover graduate participating in the East Internship Programme this year.
Aditi Rudra ‘20 I have always been interested in education as a career and I thought that this was a fantastic opportunity to learn from some of the leading teachers in terms of inquiry based learning and curriculum design in the world. I was fortunate enough to attend UWCSEA for 10 years, and the values have really sunk into me. Therefore I saw no better place to start my own teaching career, than the place that so heavily shaped who I am today. One of my key learnings from the experience is how important understanding people is for the job. I think that many people assume that the most important part of a teaching job is knowing the content but in fact, it seems that behaviour management through open mindedness, empathy and awareness go a much longer way. I am now able to more fully appreciate the hard work of teachers, and understand how they put so much thought into even the smallest things.
Fynn Dynsdale ‘20 The internship programme interested me as I could gain work experience in academic areas that I intend to pursue in the future. I worked in the Geography Department making and updating online class resources as well as aiding in IA data collections and Geography club. All of these experiences enhanced my understanding of the subject and allowed me to continue engaging with the subject until the start of university. The most valuable skill that the programme offered me was how to work in a professional environment. The benefit of doing the internship here was that I was learning in a familiar space, while developing skills I would apply in university and jobs in the future. Having worked in both the Geography and Activities Departments, I also gained a great sense of appreciation of all the work that goes into the student experience across all elements of the learning programme.
Joshua Parr ‘20 Sports Science was not a subject choice when I began my IB, so I took Biology in order to get the qualifications required for me to take sports science at university. Having the opportunity to intern in the then newly added Sports Science Department I was able to learn along the way which gave me an advantage in foundational knowledge when I started university. While I appreciated everything while I was at school, being behind the scenes to see first-hard the amount of time and effort that goes into organising lessons and creating resources for students gave me a newfound respect for our teachers.
Maia Clements ‘20 I wanted to contribute something to the school before leaving and saw the Internship Programme as an opportunity to get some work-environment experience. Since I speak and write French fluently and I get along well with the members of the French Department, I thought I’d be useful. I saw that a lot more planning time is required for the content of the lessons than the actual teaching of the lessons. Since I had other things to complete outside of the Internship Programme, such as studying for the Basic Theory of Driving test, I also learned how to prioritise my days and weeks around the Internship Programme and other external demands.
