Volunteers’ Week 2022: celebrating our alumni volunteers
9 June 2022
National Volunteers' Week took place from 1-7 June, providing an important opportunity to celebrate the contribution alumni volunteers make to the UCL community.

With their skills, passions and resources, alumni volunteers support the breadth of the UCL community and help to change lives.
Over the last academic year, 10,471 alumni have given the gift of time to UCL, 389 of whom were new volunteers.
At the start of Volunteers’ Week, UCL Vice-President (Advancement) Angharad Milenkovic shared a message of thanks with alumni volunteers:
Thank you so much for making a difference to the lives of our prospective students, our current students and other members of the alumni community.”
Supporting the whole UCL community
Mentoring students

“I want students from under-represented backgrounds to make the most out of their time at UCL."
Discover how Denise is building confidence in students from different backgrounds.
Speaking to inspire
When students and alumni hear from someone who has been in their shoes, it gives them confidence that they are right to follow their passions, to aim high and that they will succeed too.
From careers events to graduations, this academic year 227 alumni have shared their expertise, insights and stories as speakers.
Sheona Scales (BSc Neuroscience 2004) has spoken at three UCL Researchers Careers events - careers events for PhD students and research staff – this year, sharing her insights and experiences of moving from academia to industry.

“Outside of your day job, volunteering helps you to consider your own career and learn things too. I took a lot from my sessions and the interest and engagement from the audience was brilliant.”
Find out how Sheona is inspiring the next generation of researchers.
Connecting the alumni community
To help alumni stay connected with UCL and their peers, since September 2021, 274 alumni volunteers have given their time to alumni groups and community networks across the globe.
Having a thriving local alumni community can be both reassuring and inspiring for alumni, particularly new graduates, giving many a platform to make connections and grow their network. Motivated by this, Vanda Suha (MSc Security Studies 2020) has re-ignited the UCL Alumni Group in Belgium.

Alumni groups like ours provide reassurance to new graduates about their next steps and show them that there are people to support them.”“
Find out how Vanda is rebuilding a new alumni group in Belgium.
As a lead for the Recent Graduates Network in India, Vrinda Nagpal (LLM 2019) is another alumna who is inspired by the benefits that a strong alumni network can bring:
Volunteer with us
Inspired? Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours to spare, being an alumni volunteer is a flexible way to support your peers and the next generation of graduates.
Get the latest alumni volunteering opportunities and stories delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing to Volume, our regular mailing about alumni volunteering at UCL.