Volunteering Stories

Akshay Chopra
MSc Human Resources and Organisations, 2018

Whilst I was a student, I attended a lot of HRO alumni panels, where they would discuss ways to enhance one’s employability skills in the current job market. Alumni also provided their insights via the HRM Skills and Practitioner/Speaker Series where the panel would discuss topics specific to HR. These sessions gave us essential ingredients to build a strong business acumen, develop independent thinking, and make democratic decisions as a step towards managing global human resources.

Our Alumni team is truly hands-on and inspired me to become an active member of the DoM community. They continuously provide the student community with multiple opportunities to be in touch with alumni, such as panel discussions, mentoring sessions, exchange interviews etc. I most of all enjoy attending student and alumni networking evenings where fellow alumni, employers, students, and staff can get together and share/learn from each other’s experiences.

Every time I am back to campus for an event as a proud alum, it is great to witness the ever-growing partnerships LSE has with some brilliant organisations and the amazing impact our students are having whilst being associated with them.  

I have volunteered with the Department by being a panellist for the ‘Careers in Talent, Learning & Development’ event that took place for all MSc programmes within the Department. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with driven minds aspiring a career in this space, and to share my fascination for all things talent, particularly from my current role with PageGroup.

I also volunteered to be on the alumni/staff panel in the BSc Exchange Interviews, where BSc students were applying to go on exchange in the third year of their programme. I was proud to receive the Department's first Student Impact Alumni Award for my volunteering contributions to the student community.

For those considering to volunteer I would say: “there is no better way to give back to a place that has given you so much” particularly career advice and life skills. Whilst you get to share your experiences with the students, at the same time you get to learn so much from the broader LSE community.

Ambika Kapur
MSc Management and Strategy, 2015

I graduated from my MSc in Management and Strategy in 2015, following which I have been volunteering at various alumni events. During my masters, I connected with several management alumni who gave me valuable advice and helped me make the most of my programme, extracurricular activities, as well as tap into a new international job market successfully – all within the space of nine months! As a student, I benefited hugely from engaging with alumni, and this encourages me to give back and share my knowledge with current students now, as an alumna myself.

Since graduating, I have been back at LSE almost every year (often multiple times) to share my experience and insights with current Management and Strategy students, as well as with those from the broader Department of Management. I also had the opportunity to work with LSE to represent and recruit for the two firms I have worked for – PwC and Intapp. This allowed me to tap into the great potential of LSE candidates, which led to me setting up my current company’s first graduate consultant programme and recruiting a student from LSE.

I would encourage all alumni to be an active part of the fantastic community in place at LSE. It’s a great way to give back, engage with students who might be a good fit for our companies and also find out about interesting activities other alumni are up to!