The 2015 SBC Alumni Homecoming event was held in the SBC English Tearoom on 19th December. The annual homecoming event has become a fine tradition of the SBC alumni community as a platform for graduates to meet and socialise with their former classmates. With support from the Centre of Careers Service and Development and the SBC International Alumni Association (IAA), it is also an important occasion for networking with the most up-to-date information on career opportunities.
More than 60 alumni joined the annual event this year together with guests from SBC’s corporate partners in various industries. The event was also attended by Professor John Wilson, Principal and CEO, Liu Bin, Secretary of Joint General Party Branch, Fuxing Campus, Sabrina Yang, Director of Operations and other senior academic and administrative staff at SBC.
At the beginning of the event, on behalf of SBC, Professor Wilson extended a warm welcome to all alumni and special guests. Shen Jin, Chief Secretary of the 2015 SBC IAA, spoke in return on behalf of all the alumni present.
In 2014, IAA launched the SBC Alumni-Students Mentoring Programme to provide current SBC students with the opportunity to connect with alumni who work in different areas. Hiro Chen, Anbo Cui and Ma Qi joined the event last Saturday, representing all the alumni mentors in the programme. A small awards ceremony was held to give official recognition to alumni with outstanding contribution for the development of SBC.
This year’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement award was given to Ma Qi (Graduate of Events Management, Class of 2013). Working as a Government Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, Ma Qimeets and talks to the current SBC students regularly, sharing her own experience and knowledge in career development.She participates actively as a volunteer in various campus events such as the Open Day, presenting a positive image of SBC to the public. Moreover, she helps provide current students with voluntary and internship opportunities, encouraging them to learn from practice. With her support, so far 15 SBC students have been involved in the events held by the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai and 6 have received offers to work as interns.
Another highlight of the event started with the art performance given by two current students. Following the famous traditional Chinese song “Jasmine”, a video themed on life at SBC was shown, bringing everyone’s memory back to their days on campus. The event ended with two short team games which were designed to provoke a sense of belonging towards one’s alma mater.
Professor John Wilson said: ‘On behalf of the College, I would like to congratulate all the award winners and to thank the IAA, in particular the Council, for all their excellent work in supporting our students and all College activities. Their work is invaluable and is greatly appreciated. The 2015 Homecoming was a real success and I look forward very much to future IAA events.’
