On Sunday 30 January 2022, the Canadian Association of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows (CACSF) hosted a virtual meet and greet event for members. The event was organised by the association coordinator, Kevin Goheen (1983 Scholar from Canada) and Liz Raddatz (2005 Scholar from Canada).
CACSF is open to Canadian alumni who were awarded Commonwealth Scholarships funded by the CSC and Commonwealth Scholarship Fellowship Plan (CSFP). The association connects over 1,800 alumni resident in Canada and countries across the Commonwealth.
The event brought together over 25 alumni who had completed their Commonwealth Scholarships in a range of countries, including Dominica, India, Malta, and the UK.
During the event, alumni were assigned to small breakout groups for 10-minute periods before moving into different breakout groups until all attendees had met each other. During the breakouts, alumni were asked to introduce themselves and share what they missed about the city in which they had studied, any valuable non-academic skill they gained whilst on scholarship, and how they managed their student budget.
I thoroughly enjoyed the event and felt a happy energy from every participant. The surprise element worked super well in the breakout rooms as you never knew what interests were going to be revealed and would be shared in the room together. Since there was no knowing, it felt like a treasure hunt. I loved the curiosity we all shared for each others’ diverse practices as well as hearing about the lineage from our student days to our current mature lives and present interests.
The event ended with a final note from Kevin. There are plans for future virtual events for members of CACSF. If you are a Commonwealth Alumnus from Canada and would like to engage in the CSC alumni association and future activities you can connect with Kevin via the association LinkedIn group.
