In April 2020, we launched our GESS Alumni Portal and in May 2020, Kristina Stapels joined the External Communications and Relations Team to look after the Alumni Programme. We sat down with Kristina for a chat to learn more about what the Alumni Programme is about and what is in store for the future!
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Kristina Stapels, I have been at GESS since September 2015 and have had a delightful 5 years to really get to know the GESS community.
My academic background is in Applied Linguistics, Cultural Studies, Economics and Translation Studies and my academic life spanned across Germany, UK and Taiwan. Having spent time studying and living abroad myself and having a keen interest in intercultural communication, language and culture, I have always been inclined towards bringing people together and creating meaningful connections.
This has become especially important to me now that I have been living away from home (Germany) for 8 years and many of my close relationships with family and friends have become long-distance relationships.
Tapping into these personal experiences of mine, I have been very much interested in the work I get to do to foster connections between members of our Alumni community, across age, location and areas of interest.
When did you start your new role and what is it that you do?
I took over this role in May 2020 to develop our Alumni programme and integrate our Alumni further into our community.
We are working on creating opportunities for our Alumni to get involved in our community and engage with other Alumni as well as current students. We currently send a monthly Alumni Newsletter to inform our Alumni about interesting happenings in the school and there is also the online GESS Magazine that we circulate among Alumni.
Additionally, we have been very curious about what so many of our former students have gotten up to since leaving school and have conducted some interviews to find out more and bring Alumni stories to the rest of the community.
In these ways, we hope we allow our Alumni to feel a continued sense of belonging to the school!
Of course, the programme is still in its infancy; we are continually adding more features and opportunities to our programme. Some of our Alumni have written in with amazing ideas and we are working on implementing them. If you are a (future) Alumnus or Alumna and have ideas and would like to get involved, do reach out to us via email (alumni@gess.sg), the Alumni portal or social media, we are always happy to hear from you!
What is the Alumni programme about?
One important aspect of the newly revamped Alumni Programme is the Alumni Portal which was launched in April 2020. The portal is great in that it brings together Alumni – former students, parents and staff members – from around the world to a common space where they can connect through direct messages, self-initiated groups, events or simply by exploring profiles.
We currently have almost 500 Alumni members using the portal and people have already started creating groups for Alumni in the same area to connect (e.g. Singapore, Munich, London etc.) Recently, we have also seen groups along the lines of academic and professional interests, connecting Alumni studying and working in similar fields (e.g. health sector).
Other features that have been of interest include the search by city/country function, interactive map and more. In a post-Covid19 world, it will not be unimaginable for Alumni to combine a business trip/holiday with meeting former classmate or a fellow alumnus one might not have met before. It is really all about connecting people!
Of course, Alumni can always reach out to us via Alumni@gess.sg if they have any questions about the portal, the programme, about how to get involved or just want to say hi and share a favourite memory.
What are the highlights of working in Alumni Relations so far?
My favourite part so far has definitely been connecting with and getting to know our Alumni through online interviews, video calls and emails. Learning about how far they have come and see what amazing things they have achieved makes my job so meaningful and exciting. It is incredibly rewarding, to be able to share their stories with the rest of the GESS community and create a space for our Alumni to (re)connect with GESS, their old classmates, former teachers, and new friends.
What are the future plans for the programme?
Moving forward, there are so many exciting features we would like to implement in our Alumni Programme to create more opportunities for our Alumni and our current students to connect, exchange memories and experiences as well as a chance for our current students to be mentored by our Alumni. We will organise more networking or reunion events so our Alumni can meet their former classmates and have more chances to network, share nostalgic moments and just talk about the good old times. We want our Alumni Programme to be a space that offers opportunities to connect, to remember GESS together, but also a space that our Alumni can shape as well.
How can Alumni get involved in the community?
There are so many different ways to get involved in the community. Alumni can send in photos of their time at GESS, share their stories, join us for interviews, take on the role of Alumni Ambassador to get their fellow Alumni involved and organise events, give talks to our current students or even become a speaker at future Alumni events to share their expertise on topics of wider interest.
Once travel is possible again, we are also looking forward to hosting Alumni on our campus and even organise Alumni reunions in Europe.
Do let us know if and when you are planning to visit the GESS Campus so that we can make sure someone is there to show you around. Wherever possible we would like to include visiting Alumni in any class events that might take place or have our Alumni share their journey with our current students.
The next event in which Alumni can get involved is our 50-year anniversary coming up in this year and which we will celebrate with the whole community. Do let us know via alumni@gess.sg if you would like to contribute to our celebrations.
If you are leaving GESS and Singapore, do sign up for our Alumni portal, we would love to stay in touch with you!
