Shortlist announced for inaugural Alumni Volunteer of the Year awards

The team received 66 nominations and 11 individuals have been shortlisted across the two categories. The judging panel, made up of students, staff and alumni, will now whittle these down to two exceptional winners, who will be announced in April.

Emma McFadyen, Head of Alumni Relations and Volunteering at the University of Exeter said: “We’re delighted that so many people took the time to nominate their ‘Alumni Volunteer of the Year’. We had an incredibly wide range of nominations and it was wonderful to read the different ways that alumni volunteers have impacted so many individuals. It was hard to narrow down a shortlist but we’ve got some truly exceptional volunteers for our judging panel to select from and I’m looking forward to announcing the winner in early April.”

The shortlist is:

Debbie Hill Award:

• Duncan Goldsworthy (Chemistry, 1977) for his long-standing and committed support of a wide range of student employability activities
• Lizzie Daly (MSci Animal Behaviour, 2016) for her passionate support of students studying Animal Behaviour
• Daniel Orton (Psychology, 2012) for his outstanding support of the student media society, XTV
• David Morgan (Msc Climate Change and Risk Management, 2009) for going above and beyond in his support of Business School students in Cornwall
• Amanda Quartly (One Planet MBA, 2012) for her tireless contribution to the IBM/University of Exeter partnership and skills development of One Planet MBA students
• Niklas Rahmel (Information Technology Management for Business, 2015) for exceptional support of student employability and student experience across the board

Nicholas Bull Award

• Archit Garg (MSc. International Management, 2012) for his enthusiastic and committed support of the alumni community in India
• Emma Payne (Archaeology, 2011) for her passionate and driven approach to supporting recent alumni in London as Chair of Exetra
• Jonathan Broad (LLB Law 2008) for his dedicated organisation of the annual Alumni Carol Concert
• Richard Umbers (Geography and Geology, 1988) for his professional organisation of alumni events in Melbourne
• Wenjie Li (Msc Accounting and Finance, 2012) for his pioneering development of the Exeter China Alumni Association

The Alumni Volunteer Awards have been voted for by students, staff and alumni and are named in honour of two long-standing alumni volunteers, formally recognising the commitment and support that they have given Exeter over many years.

The Debbie Hill Award for exceptional support of students

Named in honour of Debbie Hill (Drama, 2006), Head of Volunteering at Marie Curie, in recognition of her invaluable advice and guidance on the development of our alumni volunteering programme. Her support has ensured that our alumni volunteers are engaged in meaningful, satisfying activities and are recognized and celebrated for their incredible work.

The Nicholas Bull Award for exceptional support of the alumni community

Nicholas Bull (Chemistry, 1973) has been volunteering his time and expertise for the University of Exeter for almost two decades. Over the years, he has taken on a wide variety of roles and activities to support our staff, students and his fellow alumni. As member of the Alumni Network Group for 10 years and independent member of Council since 2009, he has worked tirelessly to ensure that the alumni voice is represented across the University.

Winners will be announced in April and awards will be presented, either in person at the Alumni Gala Dinner in London on 10 May , or by alternative arrangement. All shortlisted nominees will receive a mention at the Gala Dinner and written congratulations.