To mark Volunteers’ Week, the University of Westminster has revealed their Alumni Volunteer Award winners for 2025. The annual Alumni Volunteering Awards recognise dedicated Westminster alumni and partners who have made a big difference in supporting students and recent graduates.
Over the past year, alumni and partners have committed hundreds of hours volunteering across programmes, mentoring and careers talks.
New for 2025 is the Industry Volunteer Award, a category that recognises extraordinary external volunteers who are not alumni but have provided exceptional support to students or recent graduates.
Professional and academic colleagues at the University of Westminster were encouraged to nominate the outstanding alumni volunteers they have worked with over the past year. This year, eleven winners were awarded over six categories.
The Alumni Speaker of the Year Award went to Accounting BA Honours alumnus Satya Shekhar and Commercial Music Marketing BA Honours graduate Kubi Springer.
Satya participated in two panel events organised by the School of Finance and Accounting in November 2023 and October 2024. During these events, he provided students with insights into recent trends and developments in accounting careers, essential skills to focus on while studying and how to make the best use of the University's resources.
Kubi delivered a talk as part of the Westminster Working Cultures trip to Dubai in September 2024. She inspired students to look inward, challenge their thinking and truly believe in the value of their own journeys. Students were captivated by her talk, feeling seen, inspired and empowered to embrace their full potential.
The Exceptional Support for Students and Recent Graduates Award was won by Ruth Elizabeth Rouse, a Diplomatic Studies alumna, and Katie Fisher, a Professional Practice Architecture (Pg Dip) graduate.
Ruth has supported three mentees on a one-to-one basis as part of the Career Mentoring Programme, providing over 15 hours of individual mentoring. One of her mentees shared their experience, highlighting Ruth's extraordinary guidance on their journey towards a career in diplomacy.
Katie has mentored Architecture Postgraduate Diploma Professional Practice ( RIBA Part III) students annually since 2020, providing invaluable guidance to support their qualification process. Recognising the challenges of the law exam, she has taken the initiative to run additional preparation sessions, ensuring students are well-prepared for this critical milestone.
The Going the Extra Mile Award has been given to Business Studies alumnus Christopher Ross and Dr Noura El Ouahhab.
Since joining Westminster as a mentor in 2017, Christopher has supported multiple Future Ready Mentoring programmes. In addition to 1-1 mentoring, he has facilitated over nine hours of group mentoring, working with 36 students and providing them with the opportunity to ask questions and learn from his career.
Noura hosted students at the prestigious Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, during a Westminster Working Cultures trip to the UAE. She provided exclusive insights into the world of diplomacy and offered a Westminster student an internship at the Academy in the summer of 2025 – a life-changing opportunity that brought the student closer to their aspiration of a career in diplomacy.
The winners of the Industry Volunteer Award were C. Lorenzo Evans III and Johnathan Lucky.
Lorenzo has been a dedicated volunteer on the Westminster Working Cultures International and UK programmes. He has volunteered on eight programmes, supporting almost 250 students virtually and in person, sharing how he combined his passion for the arts with finance to build his career.
Johnathan has supported students with real-world project briefs through Work Based Learning. He has delivered multiple in-person workshops, attended all student presentations, evaluated projects and provided detailed feedback. Johnathan also organised two company visits to the Sky campus, which was attended by around 60 students.
Manuel Heichlinger, a Human Resources Management alumnus, and Dr Kiu Sum, a Human Nutrition BSc Honours graduate, won the Long Serving Volunteer Award.
Over eight years, Manuel has given multiple talks to the Westminster community. This has included LinkedIn careers talks for Westminster Business School to What it Takes events on mastering digital brands. His talks have been attended by hundreds of students, with overwhelming positive feedback.
Since completing her undergraduate studies, Kiu has remained an active member of the Westminster community. She has inspired students with career talks, featured on School of Life Sciences panel events and provided exceptional support to 14 students through mentoring initiatives.
Finally, the Volunteer Partner Award has been awarded to Baker Street Quarter Partnership. Baker Street Quarter Partnership has played a pivotal role in enhancing the University’s employment and enterprise programmes. They offer valuable work experience and mentoring opportunities, actively hire students and showcase student talent within their member network, giving Westminster students a competitive edge in the job market.
Speaking about the Awards, James Huke, Alumni Relations Officer, said: “Congratulations to our Westminster Alumni Volunteering Award 2025 winners! Your dedication, time and passion play a key role in so many of the events and programmes we run to support students and recent graduates. I'd also like to say thank you to all our volunteers and partners who dedicate their time to support us, we are very grateful for the knowledge and expertise you provide and the lasting impact of your contributions.”
Find out more about volunteering opportunities at the University of Westminster.
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