20 January 2022
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Story Ruan Bruwer
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Photo Supplied
Keenan Carelse.
University of the Free State (UFS) Alumni may be based all around the world, but the United Kingdom (UK) Alumni Chapter aims to reconnect with all those members.
The UK Chapter is a hub of a developing UFS international programme. “We want to provide an opportunity for alumni to share their university experiences with wider audiences,” explains Carmenita Redcliffe Paul, Assistant Director:
Alumni Relations and Business Development at the UFS.
Platform to celebrate successes
“The programme aims to provide a platform to alumni to celebrate their successes and provide a window to the landscape of the life and times of the university and the people who shaped it.”
“We also want to celebrate the diversity of our former students and the many touchpoints which unite them.”
Two key projects,
Global Citizen and
Voices from the Free State, came to life as a result of the collective collaboration of this chapter. The Global Citizen invites people in a series of “courageous conversations” to rethink their relationship with the world. Voices from the Free State is a series of personal podcast narratives by outstanding alumni wherein they reflect their experiences at the UFS. They tell their stories and explain how their university years shaped their future and paved the way to their respective successes.
Relevant association with the UFS
“Furthermore, they motivate why their ongoing association with the UFS is still relevant and important,” says Redcliffe Paul.
The UK Alumni Chapter is led by alumni Francois van Schalkwyk and Keenan Carelse and supported by Adrienne Hall.
Redcliffe Paul says Carelse and Van Schalkwyk have been instrumental in the Voices from the Free State initiative as they are strategically and operationally invested. They create and co-host the podcast series.
Van Schalkwyk is an entrepreneur and innovator consulting with clients globally. Carelse is employed in the healthcare sector in the UK.