OPAIC community celebrated at alumni event

Togetherness and community were the values at the centre of OPAIC’s alumni event at Orakei Bay on Friday night.

Alumni Event 2018 was an opportunity for staff and former students to network and reminisce.

It was the first time OPAIC had arranged such a big gathering. People travelled from Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington for the event. Alumni present had studied through the Dunedin Campus, the Auckland Campus, and Capable NZ.

The evening began with a blessing of our Iwi Ngati Whatua. The event included speeches by Middlemore Hospital director hospital services Phillip Balmer and graduate Bhagirath Padhiar, who climbed the ranks to become the customer service and sales manager at Genesis Energy.

A number of high-achieving alumni were also honoured during the Outstanding Alumni Awards portion of the evening.

Wilson Kuriakose received an award for his work as manager –training and development at Look Sharp. Wilson successfully planned, organised and implemented a future manager training course within the company. Thanks to his training course, 18 OPAIC graduates are employed at Look Sharp, with more than half of those graduates in management positions.

Warrick Davidson works closely with OPAIC interns at Health 2000 ensuring quality work experience and guidance as an alumni mentor.

Sagar Shah has progressed from an IT assistant to become an IT technician at Travel Corner Limited. He works closely with OPAIC interns at the company.

Rosie Yijia Lyu is chief editor at New K Media Group. She single-handedly manages the publication and distribution of the City Walker Magazine.

Rahul Kamath started out as an interning night auditor with Ibis Budget Hotels. He progressed through the organization and now works as an assistant manager. He has provided five OPAIC students with permanent employment.

Mohit Mavi is duty manager at Spencer on Byron. He worked his way up from night auditor and has helped 27 students kick-start their hotel careers in New Zealand.

Melody Yin progressed within the organisation 3A Signs Ltd beginning as an intern. She is now store manager and responsible for the business operations and development for the Otahuhu Branch.

Read more about the award recipients here. 

Corporate Relations manager Sidra Siddiqui said Alumni Event 2018 was a tremendous evening filled with laughter and nostalgia. Many stories and memories were shared and it was amazing to see the way so many of our graduates value the OPAIC community, she said.

OPAIC wants to thank all our alumni who made an effort to attend the event. Especially the ones who travelled from outside of Auckland.

Take a look at the photos from the night here.