Congratulations to the Tom Devine who was a recipient of the University of Otago’s inaugural Young Alumni Awards; 20Twenties. Tom has been awarded this honor in recognition of his leadership as Kaiāwhina Māori, mentorship of younger students and of pursuing higher studies.
Nominations for Otago’s Inaugural 20twenties Young Alumni Awards closed at the end of June. The Alumni office encouraged staff to nominate Alumni in their twenties who are making an impact in their communities and their professions. The Alumni Engagement Manager, Donnella Aitken-Ferguson says, “Many young Alumni are achieving amazing things in their personal and professional lives”. In response to the pandemic, young people have been stepping up in their communities, business and volunteer roles. They are making invaluable contributions across a whole range of areas form research to reaching out to individuals and groups in need. As a group they are facing challenging and uncertain times and these awards are an opportunity to value and celebrate their achievements and contributions. The awards will recognise 20 Alumni in their twenties who are making an impact across a wide array of arenas and communities. They may be those who are disrupting the status quo: using trailblazing ideas to solve old problems; working to improve the health and wellbeing of their community, demonstrating leadership, providing successful business models or showing innovation.
