Appreciating alumni’s acts of service

Hidhir (wearing green, first from left) and fellow SoH volunteers distributed welfare packs to Boon Lay residents as part of a community event. (Photo credit: SoHAA)

It has been a decade since Hidhir Razak (SOH/2014) completed his Bachelor of Arts in English at NTU, but to him, it feels like he has never really left his alma mater.

Upon graduating in 2014, Hidhir joined the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (now known as the School of Humanities or SoH) Alumni Association as its honorary general secretary.

“I wanted to maintain a deep, tangible connection to the school that I had made so many fond memories in,” said Hidhir, who also received a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing from NTU in 2018. “A senior recommended the alumni association to me, and with support from my peers, I decided to run for a position within the association.”

Over the years, Hidhir has served in different roles at the alumni association and witnessed it becoming the School of Humanities Alumni Association (SoHAA) in 2018. He was voted to become the association’s president in August 2022.

The 34-year-old juggles his voluntary role with his full-time job as a corporate relations manager at a learning and development consulting firm.

“In 2022, we as a country were still reeling from a pandemic, so in our first committee meeting, we decided that we not only needed alumni and the school to be more connected to each other, we also needed our alumni and school to be of greater service to the communities around us,” said Hidhir.

Their vision came to life through the Festive Cheers @ Boon Lay in January 2023, when volunteers comprising SoH alumni, students, and staff helped to pack and distribute 700 welfare packages to families, alongside partners from the South West Community Development Council and the NTU Office of Alumni Engagement.

A similar event was repeated just this month. With additional support from a local company, Ecoplus International, the team distributed 800 welfare packs to Boon Lay residents. The community event was organised in addition to SoHAA’s regular alumni bridging activities, such as workshops, movie screenings, and gatherings.

In February, more than 160 guests were invited to the Alumni Volunteers Appreciation Night to thank Hidhir and other alumni who have contributed to NTU as volunteers, leaders, and supporters.

NTU alumni volunteers, leaders, and supporters joined Prof Boh to raise their glasses and toast to success. 

In her welcome address, Prof Boh Wai Fong (NBS/1997), Vice President (Lifelong Learning & Alumni Engagement) and a Nanyang Business School alumna, thanked fellow alumni for sharing their time, talent, and resources to give back to the university.

Prof Boh said, “Year after year, more alumni volunteer for NTU in various capacities. In 2023, alumni set a record – about 2,600 alumni paid it forward and gave their time and effort as project committee members, activity participants, mentors or speakers.” 

During the event, the collegial alumni community networked and celebrated the start of a new year over dinner and yusheng, as well as lion dance and student performances.

Check out more photos from the event in NTUsg’s Facebook photo album.