Thanks Anesca, and Totsiens

After 8 years, Wittenborg staff writer Anesca Smith - an award-winning journalist from South Africa, who is also a Wittenborg alumna - has left Wittenborg to move on to other endeavours.

Many readers will recognise her name from the countless insightful, sharply written articles that she wrote for Wittenborg over the years. Anesca is not retiring from writing, as she will now have more time to write articles for newspapers from around the world as a freelance journalist. Aside from her writing, Anesca will also continue to focus on her fashion business, African Design Collective, which specialises in modern African-designed merchandise.

Asked to reflect on her work as a writer for Wittenborg, Anesca said the following:

"I think what drives me as a journalist in general is a natural curiosity and the belief that everything - and everyone - is connected, and I live for the insight I can glean from those connections. That also applies to my time at Wittenborg - whether I was writing about the Indian student who learned to live his best life with diabetes or the president talking about education issues at large - there's magic in the everyday, you just have to look for it. International higher education was a new field for me and I loved learning about the mundane and the politics of academia."

To Wittenborg's staff and students, and especially to her colleagues in the news team, Anesca was more than a byline. Not only will we, therefore, miss a talented and sharp writer, but also a trusted colleague and dear friend. To give Anesca a proper send-off and our well wishes on her last day, we organised a farewell moment, which included time to reminisce and look ahead over some coffee and cake, as well as a speech from Wittenborg's director, Peter Birdsall. In his speech, Birdsall highlighted Anesca's talent and credibility as a journalist, the value her work provided to Wittenborg and the way it inspired students and staff members that have an interest in writing. He also mentioned how much he enjoyed their weekly chats. For this article, Birdsall furthermore adds that "Anesca has been instrumental in reporting news for the newsletter and our website, and we will miss her critical and professional approach to balancing what are important messages for us as a business school with what is important to society, especially from the context of diversity, inclusion and internationalisation."

Thanks Anesca, and totsiens!

WUP 28/11/2021
by Marius Zürcher
©WUAS Press