Alumni Volunteer of the Year Awards
Each year, a few particularly generous graduates go above and beyond in their volunteering activity to guide, advise and inspire students, and to support the University. These awards recognise their deeply valued contributions.
As they've done in previous years, many of our outstanding volunteers attended a Thank You Event on campus, where they had the chance to meet students who've directly benefitted from their generous time and support.
The awards for Alumni Volunteer and Community Fundraiser of the Year were also presented to the 2025 winners.
Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award 2025
Owen Whitfield (BSc Technical Chemical Engineering 1980)
Owen was nominated by Dr Alan Dunbar from the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, for the outstanding commitment he's shown to our chemical engineering students.
Owen has been a regular volunteer since way back in 2011, consistently supporting our advisory boards, networking events, and our 'Engineering You're Hired' project weeks.
Most recently, Owen has also devoted significant time on campus to delivering guest lectures as well as a series of consultancy sessions, helping students gain a real industrial perspective on their design projects.
Highly Commended Alumni Volunteer 2025
Megan Yeo (BA French Studies 2017)
Megan was nominated by Rebecca Ogden in the School of Languages, for going above and beyond to support students at the Global Careers in Languages panel event. Students who attended the panel event reported that Megan's insights were truly inspiring and made a real impact.
Megan has also been mentoring students in the School of Politics, lending her expertise to several workshops and networking events. In addition, she generously serves as a board member for the Arts and Humanities employer advisory board.
The full list of Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award 2025 nominees was as follows - congratulations and many thanks to all of you!
Clive Humby (BSc Applied Maths and Computer Science 1975)
Mikhail Molotkov (BEng Software Engineering, 2017)
Adam Ramzen (BA International Relations/Politics 2020, MA Politics, Governance and Public Policy 2021)
Mingyue Zhao (MSc Human Resource Management 2024)
Liran He (MSc Human Resources Management 2015)
Gareth Miles (LLB Law 1995)
Owen Whitfield (BSc Technical Chemical Engineering 1980)
Daniel Wand (LLB Law 2010, LLM Law 2011)
Rebecca Raven (BA History and Sociology 2018)
Simon Collier (BSc Computer Science and Mathematics 1995)
Abdul-Qadeer Khan (MSc Data Science 2018)
Ali Mroweh (MSc Information Management 2022)
Community Fundraisers of the Year 2025
Tim Moffatt and Tom Wright, University of Sheffield staff
This past March, two determined University of Sheffield staff fundraisers took on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way in support of our students who most need financial assistance.
Raising money for the Student Hardship Fund, Tim and Tom walked a gruelling 55 miles in a single session lasting just under 17 hours.
Their determination and resilience managed to bring in over £1,500, all of which will go towards immediate relief for Sheffield students facing acute financial challlenges. We're hugely grateful to Tim and Tom for their dedication and commitment to supporting this important cause.
Previous Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award Winners
2024 - Binna Kandola OBE (Occupational Psychology 1981)
2023 - Frankie Atkinson (Bioengineering 2017)
2022 - Matthew Donovan (BA French and Spanish 1992)
2021 - Lauren Nicholson (BA Economics 2012)
2020 - Mark Ansell (BA Social Policy and Sociology 2006)
