Issue No.4, January 2008 |
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SMUAA President’s MessageDear Fellow Alumni, Welcome to the 4th edition of Communique, the SMU Alumni Association's (SMUAA) official newsletter. After a one year hiatus, the newsletter is back with fresh content from you, Alumni of SMU. In this issue, we feature several articles, one of which focuses on Alumni Diaries. We also have an article on career and networking which would be a useful read for those focused on their career paths.  L to R: President Hunter, Wong Hur Ming, Ford Lai, Nadir Ali Zafar A key Alumni achievement was to reach the $200,000 target for the Alumni Scholarship Fund (ASF) which was achieved in 2007. A cheque was presented to Professor Howard Hunter during Graduate's Night 2007 to commemorate this milestone. The Ex-co's sincere appreciation goes out to Nadir Ali Zafar (Class of 2004), Angad Singh Ahluwalia (Class of 2005), Clarence Chai (Class of 2004), and Helen Lee (Office of Advancement & Alumni) for helping to put this all together. We have now commenced interviews for our first ASF Scholar and will soon be able to award the scholarship to a deserving candidate. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rob Schlesinger and Helen Lee, former staff members of the Office of Advancement & Alumni, for their support and contributions in establishing a strong foundation for the Alumni Association to prosper and grow. At the same time, we welcome new members of the Alumni Relations team: Sharon Tan, Ivan Low, Amelia Lim, Febrita Suwardy and Karen Loh. Some of us may already know Sharon from previous interactions ("SMU Difference" Campaign) with the Office of Corporate Communications, which she is heading. Sharon is also the Director, Office of Advancement & Alumni which includes the Office of Alumni Relations. They joined the SMUAA Executive Committee at our Planning Retreat, and we are excited to collaborate closely to offer more opportunities to our Alumni. On the membership front, we have established further tie-ups to benefit our Alumni members. Presently, GOLD members can access the Business Source (Alumni Edition) database at the Li Ka Shing Library off-campus. The database is used by the business community to keep current with the latest trends in areas of business, management, finance, economics and other related fields. We have also established a tie-up with Uni+Vantage, which gives Alumni members access to over 100 merchant discounts. To boost Alumni career opportunities, we have developed Alumni Job Alerts – a consistent and regular jobs posting via emails. Lastly, we have set up an Alumni Volunteer Database for the University to tap into for general support, and encourage all spirited Alumni keen to contribute back to our Alma Mater to come register and speak with us. With your support and a dedicated Alumni Association Ex-co at the helm, I am confident that we will continue to add value to our Alumni members, and play a pivotal role in contributing back to the University. Wishing everyone a joyful and prosperous Lunar New Year.
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