Are you a current student leader or on committee wanting to understand how to translate your acquired skills into the job market? Or are you thinking about boosting your CV by adding leadership experience but don't know how?
This joint event with the UCL Alumni team is an opportunity for students to talk to UCL Alumni who were student leaders during their time at UCL to help understand the different ways those skills can be translated into post-university life. Whether you are a current student leader, newly elected or are thinking about running for a leadership position within the SU or in a society this event will provide an opportunity to talk to professionals from a variety of industries, ask them how they used their experience as a student leader in interviews, daily life and in their career progression.
This is also a great opportunity to improve your networking skills in a judgement-free environment and develop valuable connections. You will also get an opportunity to discover what career path aligns best with your skills and interests by meeting professionals from a variety of industries.
Although this event is designed for student leaders or students who are on committee, it is open to all and non-student leaders who are interested in career development will find it helpful too.
Alumni Speakers:
Christy Zakarias
Christy has spent 7+ years in the UK’s 
Financial Services industry working across principal investing, investor relations and climate risk. Currently, she is a Sustainable Finance Consultant at Systemiq and Senior Advisor at Equatorise, focusing on bridging net zero ambitions to the capital flow needed to trigger decarbonisation tipping points. Outside of work, Christy serves as Indonesia’s G20 Youth delegate for climate change, energy transition, and sustainable development.
Christy holds a BSc in Neuroscience from University College London and during her studies was a Student Academic Representative, Indonesian Society Secretary, and Global Brigades Fundraising Director.
Allen Ilica
Allen is a Senior Consulting Analyst (Strategy & Operations) at 
Deloitte London. He is an experienced consultant recognised for his strategic acumen and deep technological fluency. He advises a diverse clientele, spanning telecoms, media, consumer goods, energy, financial services, government, and NGOs, on a range of complex business challenges. His expertise lies in strategy & business design, post-merger integration, cost optimisation, profitability enhancement, and target operating model design.
A graduate of University College London, Allen holds an Engineering degree in Information Management for Business. During his time at UCL Allen was also President of 2 societies at UCL Real Estate & Romanian societies and Vice President of the Venture Capital and Private Equity Club.
Fabia Howard-Smith
With over 10 years of experience at the crossroads of 
design, technology, and business, Fabia specialises in transforming complexity into clarity. Since joining EY-Seren as a Service Design Lead in 2023, she has led user-centred innovation across industries, including financial services, entertainment, and energy. A 30 Under 30 Creative Young Lion at the 2024 Cannes Lions Creative Academy, she has also advised the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and secured first place at the 2019 Ulster Bank Hackathon.
Fabia holds a BASc (Hons) in Marketing and Psychology from UCL and an MBA from Quantic (2021). During her time at UCL she was a Mountaineering Team Manager and a Scuba Diving Trip Manager.
Tara Akindele
Tara Akindele is the Founder and CEO of Flo Haven, an NGO tackling period poverty in Nigeria through sustainable menstrual solutions and WASH initiatives. She holds a BSc in Biomedical Science and an MSc in Global Health and Development. While at UCL, she served as a Student Residence Advisor, supporting students in their personal and academic journeys. Passionate about philanthropy, love, and service, she is dedicated to empowering communities and driving meaningful impact.
Rebecca Spagnoletto
Rebecca is a Financial Sales Account Manager at Bloomberg,
covering more than 60 financial institutions and 1,200 individual clients. She has a BSc in Economics from UCL. During her time here, she was elected Head of Events at UCL Entrepreneurs Society, where she led a team of 4 executives and organised events attended by 5,000 students overall.
She was also nominated Student Ambassador for UCL Innovation and Enterprise department, mentoring students in launching their own business venture while at UCL.
In her free time, Rebecca is an avid swimmer and football players in a girls team in North London.
Event Timings:
| 18:00-18:15 | Student arrival and refreshments. |
| 18:15-19:00 | Introduction from hosts and panel discussion from alumni guest speakers about their student leader experience and how they applied their skills in their current careers. |
| 19:00- 20:20 | Seated networking session (divided into groups with 1 alum at each circle). Alumni rotate every 15 minutes. |
| 20:20-21:00 | Casual networking between students and alumni. |
Participating in this session will allow you to:
- Learn how the skills gained from being a student leader apply to your career, interviews and day to day life outside of university.
- Develop your networking skills in a judgment-free environment.
- Learn more about the alumni, their career journeys and discover how beneficial their student leader experiences were in this.
- Develop meaningful connections with Alumni.
- Discover what career paths can be suitable to your skill set.
- Feel more confident when networking in the future.