Alumni Reunion Archives

AKU Alumni Association of North America Annual Meeting, 2020

December 6, 2020 By Saeed

Dear Alumni, the AKUAANA Annual Meeting for 2020 is scheduled for 11:30 AM EST on December 12, 2020.

The Business Meeting will include President, Secretary and Treasurer’s reports and will be followed by a brief Q/A session.

Thereafter, attendees will get an opportunity to hear from Guest Speakers and shall have plenty of time to virtually hang out with friends, colleagues as well as the leadership of both AKU & AKUAANA.

Alumni interested in attending the Meeting can register here.

Please consider signing up for AKUAANA membership if you aren’t a member already.

AKUAANA Executive Council
President: Faisal Cheema | Secretary: Abdul Waheed | Treasurer: Tauseef ur Rehman | Immediate Past President: Namirah Jamshed

AKU MC Alumni Brunch – Winter 2019

December 24, 2018 By Saeed

Dr Adil Haider, Class of ’98 and Dean of AKU Medical College, is pleased to host an event for the AKUMC alumni at AKU, Karachi on January 3, 2019. The event includes campus tours for alumni and their families followed by brunch with friends and faculty.

If you are interested in attending the event, kindly register by completing this brief form. Please note that the last date to register for the Alumni Brunch – Winter 2019 is Sunday, December 30, 2018.

Annual Alumni Meeting, 2018

August 28, 2018 By Saeed

Dear Alumni,

A large number of AKU alumni and their families gathered in July at the APPNA 41st Annual Convention, 2018 at the stately Anatole Hilton in Dallas, Texas. The Executive Council presented their reports in the AKUAANA General Body Meeting. Minutes of the General Body Meeting are available on the website.

The General Body Meeting was followed by the AKUAANA Annual Dinner which was attended by more than 200 alumni and spouses and featured milestone celebrations of Classes of AKU ‘88, AKU ‘93 and AKU ‘98. The Class of ‘88 celebrated its 30-year milestone. It was inspiring to have members of our first graduating class present at the meeting. Dr. Shahid Shafi spoke passionately and eloquently at the dinner and challenged us to reach our maximal potential.

We had more than 20 alumni each from the class of ’93 and class of ’98 attend and celebrate their 25-year and 20-year milestones respectively. Both classes announced gifts of $250,000, each, to AKU to mark this occasion.

Dr. Ayesha Mian ’88 the Dean of Students, Mr. Abdul Haq Wahedna from Alumni Affairs and Mr. Shaikh Ali Hussain from Resource Development represented AKU at the meeting and hosted a well-attended breakfast for AKU alumni the morning after the dinner.

Many of us were meeting for the first time after graduating from AKU. We were struck at how comfortable we felt interacting with old friends and colleagues and how the years just fell away as if we had never been apart. Spouses and families were equally involved, and it was great to see our children forming their own ties of friendship. A silent auction of artwork by our own graduates raised funds for philanthropic causes.

We look forward to seeing many more of you at the next AKUAANA Annual Meeting during the APPNA 42nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida in July 2019.

Our best regards,

Namirah Jamshed, President
Noor Afshan, Secretary
Faisal Cheema, Treasurer

AKUAANA Regional Reunion in Houston, Texas on October 14, 2017 [write-up]

October 31, 2017 By Saeed

Azam Kundi ’92, Homayon Sidiq ’92, Nooruddin Punjwani ’95, Athar Qureshi ’96, Abbas Jafri ’97, Faisal H. Cheema ’00, Fyza Piracha ’01 and Sabeen Najam ’02 hosted a terrific regional reunion for AKU alumni in the Greater Houston region, on October 14, 2017. They had a fantastic turnout, with 115 alumni attending the event. The event was attended by Habib Chotani ’95, current President of AKUAANA, who has shared a brief recap of the event.
Abdul Basit Saeed, ’07
Web Manager, AKUAANA

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Dear AKUAANA Family,

We had an amazing turnout at the AKUAANA Regional Reunion in Houston on October 14, 2017, with people coming from Houston, Austin, Dallas and other adjoining areas. In attendance were more than 265 people, including 115 alumni representing classes over a span of three decades (our first graduating Class of 1988 to a student of 2020).

The event was very well organized along with kids’ activities including balloon making, face painting and a kids-friendly dinner. The kids obviously had a blast.

Dr Javed Akhtar, AKU faculty now residing in Texas was our guest of honor.

Dr Pervaiz Iqbal, Acting Dean of AKU, was able to send the following video message to the alumni:

We greatly appreciate ITHP-VCare Foundation for sponsoring this event; without their financial support, this event would simply not have been possible.

The work that has been done by AKUAANA over the last few years was presented.

We also showed a short video of the AKUAANA Outreach Clinic in Ibrahim Hyderi, and presented the most recent Impact Report of the project.

Namirah Jamshed, ’96, our incoming President for 2108 – 19 introduced herself and requested alumni in attendance to join AKUAANA and become lifetime members.

During the devastation of Hurricane Harvey many of the Houston alumni were personally affected. Our AKUAANA initiative, in collaboration with the Alumni in the area decided to contribute to the rebuilding efforts for the city of Houston. We are pleased to announce that AKUAANA raised almost $10,000! The money has already been donated to the Houston Mayor’s office. Efforts by the AKUAANA Executive Council, in conjunction with the local alumni is a great example of how we can come together under our Alumni Association, organize and give back to our local community.

After a delicious dinner we had entertainment from Asad Abbas ’89 and Fida Khan ’97. Thank you to both of them and especially the musicians who came with Fida all the way from Austin for the event.

Mohammad Sarfaraz, ’90 was gracious in taking over the photography and for taking amazing snaps.

Congratulations to the Hurricane Harvey Fund Group and Reunion Organizing Committee (the same group of people helped with both endeavours) for such a great team effort! I can’t really thank you all enough for arranging this, Azam Kundi ’92, Homayon Sidiq ’92, Nooruddin Punjwani ’95, Athar Qureshi ’96, Abbas Jafri ’97, Faisal Cheema ’00, Fyza Piracha ’01 and Sabeen Najam ’02, our Organizing Committee who worked tirelessly and made this event a huge success and the largest regional reunion in the history of AKUAANA.

Hope we can continue our tradition of regional reunions all around the US and build our network stronger.

Habib Chotani
Class of ’95
President, AKUAANA

Annual Alumni Meeting, 2017

July 16, 2017 By Saeed

Dear Alumni,

Congratulations on a very successful AKUAANA Reunion in Orlando, FL on Friday July 7th, 2017. We again hosted one of the largest gathering after Washington, with over 200 participants and graduates from every class from 1988 to 2014. The classes of 1997 and 1992 celebrated their class milestones.

This year our Dean, Dr Farhat Abbas could not attend but did send us a video message.

The General Body Meeting was separated from the Reunion Dinner and was held just prior to the start of the Reunion Dinner. This was done to allow for alumni-only discussions and crucial decision-making. The General Body Meeting was an alumni only session. Current progress of AKUAANA was presented, including the Treasurer’s Report, increase in membership, new selection of Board of Advisor and AKUAANA project(s). Open discussion was held for new projects. Minutes of the General Body Meeting are available on the website.

We were the 4th largest group of alumni present at the APPNA convention and we remain the 4th largest component society at APPNA and the fastest growing in terms of numbers. The leaders of APPNA highlighted our continuing influence on the larger society when they visited with us during dinner. Rehan Khan ’94 and Habib Chotani ’95 received the presidential award for the APPNA National Food Pantry Project.

After a lively dinner, we sang and danced the night away with Rabat Fateh. The classes of 1997 and 1992 hosted their private celebrations on Saturday. The evening banquet was very well attended, highlighted by a great performance by Atif Aslam. Please visit our Facebook Page to view pictures from the reunion, tag yourselves and like the page as well.

The next reunion will be held on July 6th in Dallas , Texas.

We look forward to seeing you there, and remember to buy tickets and book hotel reservations as soon as they become available.

Thank you again!

Our best regards,

Habib Chotani, President
Rehan Khan, Secretary
Amber Syed, Treasurer

AKUAANA Regional South-Eastern Reunion in Atlanta, Mar 2017

February 7, 2017 By Saeed

Dear AKU Alumni,

We are planning on hosting an AKU Alumni Regional Reunion in Atlanta, GA for the alumni residing in Atlanta and vicinity on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 7 PM. Other alumni in the neighborhood or visiting during the event date are also welcome to attend.

Please join us for an evening of fun, socializing and it goes without saying, networking with fellow alumni. Details of the venue will be circulated soon. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Amyn Malik (Class of 2010) at amyn.malik@gmail.com or Saad B. Omer (Class of 1998) at somer@emory.edu. Please RSVP by March 3, 2017 if you plan to attend.

See you on March 12!

Saad and Amyn

AKUAANA Regional Reunion in Dallas, Texas – Apr 2017

February 7, 2017 By Saeed

Date: April 15th, 2017
Time: 1 PM – 4 PM, CDT
Venue: Curtis Park in University Park, 3501 Lovers Lane, Dallas TX 75205

Please save the date for an AKU Medical College Alumni Regional Reunion in Dallas, Texas!

We would like you to join us on Saturday, April 15th, 2017 at 1:00 PM, CDT for an afternoon of fun, socializing and networking. Bring your family and kids. We had a great reunion last year playing cricket.

If you plan to attend, please join us on our Facebook Event or RSVP at your earliest convenience to Faisal Qureshi (’93) at faisal.qureshi@utsouthwestern.edu, or Namirah Jamshed (’96) at drjamshed@gmail.com.

Please help us spread the word by inviting other AKU alumni. We hope to see you soon.

Hosts:
Faisal Qureshi, Class of 93
Namirah Jamshed, Class of 96
Arshad Malik, Class of 93
Sadia Malik, Class of 93

Volunteers for Regional AKU Reunions, 2017

January 25, 2017 By Saeed

Dear AKU Alumni,

We are looking for volunteers across US and Canada who can help coordinate regional reunions for AKU Medical College Alumni.

The role of the coordinators will be to help invite AKU Alumni within an approximate 100-mile radius of the venue. They would also be instrumental in arranging the program details for the event.

To clarify, the coordinators will not be financially responsible to host the events. For example, the arrangement can be made at a restaurant and people can pay for themselves. If any coordinator wants to host any event themselves, they are welcome to do so but there is no obligation to do so.

In 2016, successful mini reunions were arranged in Minnesota, Dallas, Northern Virginia, St. Louis, Atlanta and the New York / New Jersey area. Snaps from these reunions can be viewed on our Facebook Page.

This year, we are looking for volunteers so we can have similar and even more successful events in the US and Canada.

The reason for having these mini reunions is to promote not only social and professional networking, but also to explore the future of our alumni body and collaboration in possible future community and charitable projects (in the US or Pakistan) using the AKUAANA platform.

We hope that you consider becoming a volunteer to expand the number of local reunions. If you would like AKUAANA or its officers to help in anyway, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thank you.

Habib Chotani
President, AKUAANA (2016 – 17)

Annual Alumni Meeting, 2016

August 21, 2016 By Saeed

Dear Alumni,

Congratulations on a very successful AKUAANA Reunion in Washington, DC on Friday August 5th, 2016. We hosted one of the largest gatherings in Washington, with over 180 participants and graduates from every class from 1988 to 2014. The classes of 1996 and 1991 celebrated their class milestones.

The reunion was very well attended by University leaders including Dr. Farhat Abbas (Dean, AKU Medical College), Mr. Zahir Janmohamed (Director General, Resource Development). Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta also attended the meeting. In fact, Dr Bhutta has just received the Pride of Performance by President of Pakistan.

The General Body meeting was separated from the Reunion Dinner and was held just prior to the start of the reunion dinner (minutes available). This was done to allow for alumni-only discussions and crucial decision-making. The General Body meeting was an alumni only session. Current progress of AKUAANA was presented, including Treasurer’s report, approval of constitutional amendment, increase in membership, new selection of Board of Advisor and AKUAANA project(s). Open discussion was held for new projects – APPNA merit lecture series (AKUAANA members to commit for 10 lectures in a year) lead by Rehan Khan ‘94, PGME Conference at AKU for career counselling in October 2016 lead by Junaid Razzaq ’94, volunteer/internship opportunities for AKUAANA members children at AKU Karachi.

We were the 3rd largest alumni present at the APPNA convention and we remain the 4th largest component society at APPNA and the fastest growing in terms of numbers. The leaders of APPNA highlighted our continuing influence on the larger society when they visited with us during dinner. Rehan Khan ’94 received the award from the President of APPNA for his work on getting expedite visa approval for J1 applicants.

After a lively dinner, we sang and danced the night away with Sunidhi Chauhan. The classes of 1996 and 1991 hosted their private celebrations on Saturday the 6th. The evening banquet was very well attended, highlighted by Zikr Khan and his wife, address by Governor Terry Mcauliffe and entertainment by Rahim Shah and Fariha Pervaiz. Please visit our Facebook Page to view pictures from the reunion, tag yourselves and like the page as well.

The next reunion will be held on July 7th in Orlando, Florida.

We look forward to seeing you there, and remember to buy tickets and book hotel reservations as soon as they become available.

Thank you again!

Our best regards,

Habib Chotani, President
Rehan Khan, Secretary
Amber Syed, Treasurer

AKU Alumni Regional Midwest Reunion: June 2016

July 31, 2016 By Saeed

Atif Shafqat & Nadya Ajanee, ’93, Amana Nasir, ’98 and Hamid Bashir, ’02 hosted an awesome regional reunion for AKU alumni in the Midwest region (St. Louis), on June 03, 2016. They had a lovely turnout, with more than 30 alumni attending the event. I am sharing below a brief recap of the event, which Atif Shafqat was very kind to share with us.

Abdul Basit Saeed, ’07
Web Manager, AKUAANA

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AKU Alumni Regional Midwest Reunion, June 2016

On June 3rd, 2016 AKU Medical College Alumni had a regional reunion for Midwest alumni in St. Louis, Missouri. Over 30 alumni plus spouses and many kids (…we noticed quite a few homozygous AKU Alumni progeny…) were able to join together for a fun evening. The attendees included alumni starting from the Class of 1989 all the way to Class of 2013!

The event was a close-knit gathering at the home of Class of ’93 alumni Nadya Ajanee and Atif Shafqat. The other local hosts included Amana Nasir (’98), Hamid Bashir (’02), Tabassum and Obeid Ilahi (’92), Faisal and Saira Asaduallah (’92), Tariq and Anjum Hassan (’89). The theme was “green, white and classy” which could be interpreted in as many ways as the attendee may choose!

Habib Chotani, President of AKUAANA, also attended and brought with him some souvenirs (or should we call them bribes?), including alumni T-shirts for AKUAANA Lifetime Members. Habib did a small presentation which detailed what AKUAANA has been able to accomplish in the last few years. One of the primary purpose of AKUAANA is to serve for the benefit and success of its alumni and their families in our adopted country. The big challenges of increasing membership and organizing now an ever-growing large alumni body in North America were discussed. One idea proposed via a recent survey of the AKU alumni was to find a “common cause” to coalesce around. Habib did a short presentation on one such initiative identified in the form of supporting the “Ibrahim Haidri Outreach Clinic”, a women and pediatric clinic run in the Katchi-Abadis in Karachi in partnership with AKU.

Following the desi dinner, khoobani meetha and chai, there were plans for a singing performance by Hamid Bashir. Hamid has fame from the APPNA Idol Competition and has an activist streak and passion for creating meaningful music (check out his website www.music4cause.net). Just when it seemed that there were going to be some technical sound equipment difficulties, it all came together and he was able to pull off a fabulous performance as usual!

The best part of the evening was meeting up with old friends, having a few laughs and catching up on old memories. The message that comes out clear from these events is that there is a persistent and strong tie that binds the AKU alumni community. It is more than ever necessary to watch out for each other and our families as we navigate and establish ourselves in our new homeland with its many challenges.

View the full album with pictures from the event at the AKUAANA Facebook Page.

For more recaps of Alumni Reunions, visit our Past Meetings page.

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AKU Alumni Regional Midwest Reunion, June 2016

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