The reimagined activities ranging from a virtual campus tour to conversations with the nation’s favorite singers and cricketers, interactions with faculty members to a master class on Pakistani cinema, poetry recitals to fireside chats with LUMS leadership, and much more kept the audience engaged during the three-day event. The ‘Give a Day to LUMS’ campaign was also launched by the institution during this event which encouraged the alumni to contribute as little as a day’s income from their annual incomes for scholarships. The drive intends to resolve the financial worries of highly talented students coming from across the country, by helping them acquire the required skills at LUMS to become pioneering change makers.
A zealous participation by the alumni was witnessed during this period as they reflected on their Luminite experience, educational success, and the lifelong friendships and relationships they had formed at the University. Perspectives on navigating through the job market and starting up own ventures after graduation were also shared by the former students during these sessions. Moreover, Adeel Hashmi, moderated some of the sessions and kept the audiences entertained with his witty discourse and charismatic appeal. While reflecting on the institution’s incredible progress during the 35 years of its establishment, Founding Pro-Chancellor of LUMS, Syed Babar Ali associated it to the hardworking faculty and alumni by saying, “A university is not recognized by its building or logo, rather what comes out of it by way of students. The credit for this goes to the faculty who nurture and teach them. We want to celebrate our alumni and keep in touch with them. We want to learn from them and also make sure that they are a source of pride and credit to their families, the environment they come from, and to Pakistan.” Staying true to its tradition, the Vice Chancellor’s Alumni Achievement Awards were also bestowed to eight individuals. The awardees shared their success stories with everyone and expressed sincere appreciation for the honor, while vowing to continue serving to the best of their abilities. Speaking about the importance of Alumni Achievement Awards, Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad said, “These awards are given to the alumni for bringing honor to the legacy of excellence of LUMS. In recognition of their exemplary accomplishments across various sectors, and services rendered in communities at a national/international level, the institution feels proud to celebrate their achievements in the most meaningful way with the world.” LUMS successfully did away with the constraints imposed by distances to provide everyone the opportunity to be a part of its first virtual Alumni Homecoming event. The alumni also held the institution’s efforts in high estimation to bring the event to them at a time when it couldn’t be held physically on campus, due to current pandemic.
