Newsletters

 

Alumni Newsletter

December 2013

On the second birthday of our Alumni newsletter, we would like to thank you all for your input and contributions including career updates, fundraising efforts and lives generally beyond the Programme.

In this issue we have a special seasional message from Dr Paul Beresford-Hill (Director General), "On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the staff of The Mountbatten Institute I wish everyone the very best for the festive season. We have just held our Completion Ceremony in Bangkok, and I am writing this letter to you all from our Bangkok office, where the outside temperature is a little warmer than London and New York!! But in spite of that, the Christmas lights are twinkling and Santa Thailand is every bit as robust and jolly as he is elsewhere.
I hope that 2014 will be a productive and safe year for all of you and for your families and friends. 2014 represents the 30th Anniversary of the founding of Mountbatten, and we are planning a number of events in our three locations to celebrate. The culmination will be the Mountbatten Anniversary Ball which will be held in the autumn in New York and London. Be sure to keep in touch with the Alumni office so you can share in the festivities. Happy Holidays and have a wonderful new year.
"
And one from Rev Fr Joseph Cyman (Coordinator of Volunteer Activities),"It is a great honor for me to write you a short message in this time of approaching festivities. I am sending you the warmest wishes to you and your family members; those who will celebrate with you and those who will be far away. Your family members and friends are a wonderful part of Christmas celebrations! May the blessings of peace and love shower on you, and all your loved ones. May you celebrate this great time of good cheer in fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving. Share your spirit by uplifting and encouraging others."
We also have a Mountbatten engagement, and several fundraising efforts beside our regular sections. This month sees the launch of a new feature, "A day in the life of...", which we hope you will find interesting, and look forward to receiving any nominations for this or for Alum of the Month in the future.

The Alumni Society would like to wish you all a very happy festive season, and ask that you keep connected to us wherever you happen to be in the world.

A day in the life of...

Tim Pyke (January 2001 - New York), is the Off-Site Production Manager for Australian MasterChef. He lives in Melbourne, Australia. "7am can feel like a lie-in compared to filming days, where 3am starts aren't unusual. It's then that the office espresso machine really comes into its own, combine that with other MasterChef kitchen leftovers on hand, and breakfast is usually taken care of at the office.

There's no such thing as a typical shoot day. Last series we filmed on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai; in underground patisseries in Paris; fishing trawlers off the coast of Fremantle; vineyards in Barossa Valley; and we shut down busy Melbourne streets for a mini-food festival. The only thing they had in common was that none of them expected us to bring 100 crew and contestants with us". Read Full Story.

 

Alum of the month

Sarah Maund
March 2012 - New York

"The highlight of my working experience throughout the year was probably the organisation and implementation of the annual skiing trip to Vermont. This is something the company had done for the previous 10 years. It was a chance for all employees to get out the office and away for the weekend. The weekend was perfectly executed and I was so grateful to be a part of it."
Read full story
.


Engagement

Congratulations to Brandon Rollings and Sarah Katherine Greer (March 2012 - London), who are now engaged to be married in October 2014 in Sarah's home state of North Carolina. After completing her MBA studies in Thailand, Sarah moved to Colorado and Brandon proposed to her on a walk at Chautauqua Park near Boulder on a beautiful October day. Thank you for sending in the lovely engagement photo, and we look forward to featuring the wedding late next year.

Charitable Alumni

Julie Droessler and Rachel Zyzda (August 2010 - London) have just launched an exciting and extremely worthwhile fundraising campaign to raise money for The Peoples Music School, which offers completely free music education to students in Chicago. In Rachel's words: "Our passion for this mission was actually sparked by some amazing events this past Friday (involving a chance meeting with 2 members of the band The Backstreet Boys, while getting a coffee in a Dunkin Donuts in Chicago)". Read the full story.

They are aiming to make an impact on the accessibility of music education for young children, and are hoping others will want to get involved. Also, if anyone has any connections at a news or media outlet, please pass the message on.

In addition, Barbara (Barbie) Sellmeyar (March 2011 - London) has signed up for the NYC Half Marathon which takes place 16 March 14. The race will go from Central Park through Times Square all the way down to the South Seaport. She will be running with the Team for Kids, which raises money to offer free health and fitness programs to children in under-served schools who would not have the opportunity to exercise or play sports. Barbie explains how: "Athletics play a big part in my life, helping me always push myself to reach my goals and I could only hope to give back and allow other children to experience the benefits of being involved in athletics. My mother is an avid athlete, and she had a cardiac arrest last year which she survived. I am dedicating the race to her for always being strong and always supporting my dreams." Visit Barbie's support page.

Thank you all for sharing this with the Alumni Society, and we wish you well in your fundraising endeavours.

Entrepreneurial Alumni

Funsho Oladimeji (September 2007 - New York) currently works with Deloitte in London and runs her own business, Fabulositee. It's an online gift store and they have a dynamic gift registry that allows people from Nigeria to get gifts from their website. Read about Funsho's business summary.

They offer gift boxes and baskets to people and small businesses in the UK, and currently running their 2013 Christmas campaign. Check out their brochure.

Sports Achievement

Our MBAs in Bangkok seem to be having a good time and for the first time, apparently, engaged in team sports there. James Harrison Greenwood and Alexander Lee recently participated in the Bangkok 7's rugby tournament at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, and James even managed to get man of the tournament! Congratulations to all involved! Read James' account and see Photos.

Jobs

To view all the latest job openings including an International Programs Manager in Bangalore, India, and a Market Risk Management Analyst in New York, please go to our alumni website.

Tax Letters

March & August 2013 Intakes - London Programme US citizens only - Mountbatten will provide you with your tax letters in January 2014. This letter will outline the allowance you received in 2013 and will be emailed to email address we have on file. If you haven't received your letter by the end of January 2014 or if you have any questions please contact lkenneryd@mountbatten.org.

email: vmccordall@mountbatten.org
web: http://alumni.mountbatten.org