Power of alumni in schools: Vienna College

By Owen Wagabaza

With ever-shrinking budgets and demands to develop schools, high schools across the country are realising that their alumni are not only a valuable resource - but also a largely untapped one.

The role of old students to each and every school should never be underappreciated.

 Alumni are important in maintaining traditions and preserving continuity. They strengthen the school for the future. Making it obvious that alumni are important to the school will help insure a successful future for the school and its students.  

Just as universities, public and private schools can also leverage the power of their alumni.

Your graduates are well-positioned to provide financial, moral and academic support to help support continuity of schools’ development and quality growth.

A number of schools nowadays hold weekly sessions and annual celebrations to get a moment of recalling their old students; to give advice and at times to financially support their old schools.

Recently, after their impressive performance at the recently released Cambridge international exams, Vienna College, an international school based in Namugongo hosted its maiden alumni week.  

The weeklong event ended on a few days ago. The main activities included career guidance, sports and a thanksgiving church service; all themed under, “Generations revolve, traditions remain.”

The alumni, who turned up, have for years down the road become some of the most of who have become distinguished citizens in the country. They were at the school to give their schoolmates tips on revising and passing, they also helped in supervising classes and evening reading sessions.

Addressing the alumni and the students at the launch of the weeklong event, the headmaster Muhammad Kakiika thanked the alumni for remaining in touch with the institution that shaped them. “We are very proud  and grateful of the multitude of learners that  we have nurtured many of whom went on to pursue further studies in renowned international and local universities and are now coming back to mentor their own,” Kakiika said.  

Boasting of how Vienna College was the first school in the country to introduce the Linux education system, Kakiika assured the alumni that “Vienna has always been a school to reckon with, and we will always keep the name high. But we always tap into the resource of our alumni,” he added.

Mathew Okumu Ongwen, the deputy head teacher said one of major purposes of the event is for students to get inspiration from the alumni. “Many of our alumni are doing well in their fields of profession. We want them to encourage their colleagues.”

One of the school’s most famous alumni who turned up at the event was Kenneth Kiyingi the MP for Mawokota South. He thanked the school for enabling him explores his leadership potential by providing him with a platform to serve the school as a prefect, years ago.

 “I cherish that opportunity because it provided a firm foundation for me. It is the reason why I’m a politician now. It’s my prayer that leadership is promoted in the school curriculum to groom more leaders in our country,” he said.

 The event was initiated by the school’s old students and is expected to be an annual event.