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LSHTM is amazing. Alumni always tell me that it is the people that make the School so special. I completely agree, and it has been such a joy to work with the incredible international community of staff, students, alumni and international partners. I am always humbled and inspired by all of you. The LSHTM community truly delivers the School's mission to improve health worldwide and it is an honour to be a part of it.

LSHTM is such an innovative place. I’m proud our development and alumni team have worked with colleagues across the School to pioneer so many sector-leading initiatives. Thank you to everyone who took part in Pentacell. We were delighted to win three prestigious industry awards, and a LSHTM Award, for this ground-breaking work. It was fantastic to be able to support the global COVID-19 response through the rapid data project. Our volunteers built a database of every COVID-19 intervention in the world for WHO. The Alumni volunteering hub won several awards - a huge thank you again to everyone who took part.

It has been fabulous to get to meet alumni from around the world. Highlights have included organising alumni events at conferences and scientific meetings like the American Society of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine annual meetings, the IHEA World Health Economics Forums, the MIM Pan Africa Malaria Conference, the European Congress on Travel Medicine and International Health, the Health Systems Research Symposium, the world AIDS conference and many more.

We organised some very special events over the years. I will never forget the incredible John Snow Bicentenary celebrations, LSHTM’s 120th anniversary activities and 2010 reception in Uganda with the Global Health Council to celebrate the MRC Unit's anniversary. We were awarded a Prime Minister's Initiative Pilot Project in 2013 to establish alumni hubs in India, Nigeria and Kenya to better support international students before they came to London. We learned so much from the experience and are very appreciative of our Student and Alumni Ambassadors for all the support they give our prospective students.

In 2015 and 2016 we partnered with universities across London and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to promote London as a destination for study, culture and investment. We held showcase events with the UK government in India, the USA, UAE and Qatar. We also organised a special event in the Houses of Parliament to highlight the enormous contribution international students make to the UK. As you would expect, LSHTM alumni and innovation were front and centre.

Before joining LSHTM I worked for the University of London International Programme, so LSHTM’s distance learning community has always been very special to me. I am in awe of the dedication of our distance learners, who study our qualifications whilst having very busy lives, balancing family and work commitments. Widening participation is a key priority for LSHTM. I have been honoured to be a part of the widening participation working group to ensure talented individuals from diverse backgrounds can access our qualifications. I am so grateful to all the amazing LSHTM Scholarship Fund supporters and am proud that this year we can offer more scholarships than ever.

I look forward to seeing what is next for LSHTM. (Maybe I can use my connections to get an invite to the 125th anniversary celebrations!) If you want to stay in touch, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. I hope to continue to work with LSHTM in future – a place that will always be in my heart!