Lots of fresh air, fun and good company were the order of the day during our year-end functions for final-year students held on 12 and 13 November at our campuses.

These annual “rite of passage” events mark our students’ ascent into the world of work, and also into the fold of our alumni fraternity. This is where we say goodbye to our students, but at the same time also welcome them as our brand-new alumni.

 

Spirits high at cheerful event

 

Alumni relations practitioner Zanele Ngobese says it was a joyous occasion on the Vanderbijlpark Campus when more than 500 students gathered at the Big Lapa for a Purple Spring picnic on Friday, 12 November.

 

The hosts of the event were Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, and Corporate Relations and Marketing’s Alumni Relations department.

 

Having fun in the west, too

 

On the same day, a few hundred kilometres to the west, final-year students enjoyed the jovial atmosphere at the Mahikeng Campus’s farewell picnic hosted by Prof Sonia Swanepoel, the deputy vice-chancellor for community engagement and Mahikeng Campus operations.

 

NWU vice-chancellor Prof Dan Kgwadi also attended the event on the Soccer Institute’s grounds. Addressing the students, he highlighted some of the university’s biggest achievements over the years and encouraged them to pursue their dreams and work hard.

 

“The students, who will now be our new alumni, were also urged to become members of the Convocation,” says newly appointed alumni practitioner, Keabetswe Gopane.

 

Another day, another campus

 

The next day, on 13 November, it was the turn of the Potchefstroom Campus’s final years to be introduced to the joys and benefits of being alumni.

 

Nicolize van der Walt, the section head of Alumni Relations, encouraged them to remain involved with the university as alumni, and to join the Convocation.

 

There was a special treat for the students, says alumni practitioner Abigail Oliphant. “The NWU’s very own Black Note Ensemble sent them off with a lovely performance of the song ‘Time to say good-bye’.”

 

Fortunately, when it comes to our final-year students, this is not goodbye but the beginning of a whole new relationship with our freshly minted alumni.