Gala Night at Ground Level: Alumni on the Value of an AAU Education

The 2025 AAU Gala brought together students, staff, faculty, and alumni to mark the 35th anniversary of Anglo-American University (AAU). Held at the Hotel Ambassador Zlatá Husa in the center of Prague, festivities included live music and dancing, an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions from members of the community, and a commemorative retrospective tracing the university’s trajectory over the last three and a half decades.

From its humble beginnings with just 51 students and five international lecturers, AAU has grown into a truly international, globally-connected university. Today, it serves more than 800 students from 80 plus countries and boasts an alumni network numbering over 2,790 graduates representing 90 nationalities. 

Among the many in attendance at the Gala were no small number of those very alumni, coming from varied backgrounds but all bound by a common experience. Several took a moment to speak about their time at the university and how it had shaped their lives, bringing AAU’s 35-year legacy into sharp and personal focus.

Sasha Kovalevska, who earned a B.A. in Journalism and Communications in 2017 and an M.A. in Humanities in 2020, is currently a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations and European Studies. She testified to the academic rigor of her coursework at AAU and the direct access she and her fellow students had enjoyed to faculty who were not only academically qualified but also brought invaluable real-world experience.

“There were a lot of people who had not only great academic careers but also professional careers,” she said. “It was really great to have direct access to these people.”

Many of those connections, she added, continued well after graduation, and she remains in contact with several of her former professors to the present day.

Kovalevska’s experience on campus was shaped as much by the student body as by the faculty.

“It’s something different when you meet so many people from so many different cultures who can…educate you about their lives back home,” she commented.

During her undergraduate years, Kovalevska interned at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where she developed skills in media production she uses in her work today. To derive the greatest benefit from their internships, she encouraged students to approach them strategically, positioning themselves “in a way that the organization can see how your specific skill set can contribute.”

Looking ahead, Kovalevska expressed hope that AAU will continue with the support for the cultural engagement and career development she experienced during her time at the university.

Benjamin Rutledge, who graduated in 2022 with a degree in International Relations, offered yet another point of view, commenting on the value of learning from professors actively publishing in their respective fields, noting that such scholarly output pointed to a high level of proficiency.

“It was really cool having professors who had published books or journal articles. It showed they were experts in what they did,” he said.

Two internships at Prague-based think tanks gave him opportunities to apply academic theory in professional contexts and helped him secure admission to the MSc International Political Economy program at the London School of Economics.

Rutledge likewise served as treasurer of the Student Council and took part in extracurricular activities including football, club events, and a class visit to the Czech Parliament. He recounted his fondness for the informal student-faculty interaction common at the university, such as the “Professors in the Pub” discussion series, which he described as “something really special”, as well as the significance of learning from peers with ideas distinct from his own.

“We got to hear other students’ perspectives and do debates, bounce ideas off of people who had completely different backgrounds and grew up in different cultures than myself,” he recollected.

Alumna Lucia Zlamalová’s reflections in turn highlighted how the university’s global outlook and community spirit can open unexpected doors. Zlamalová, who graduated with a B.A. in International Relations and Diplomacy in 2018, described how her education was influenced as much by people and experiences as by coursework.

“I love the international environment and the community,” she said. “I made lifelong friends; we’re still in touch to this day.”

A particularly formative experience for Zlamalová was a university-led trip to Bali, where she taught English in local schools. That experience, which became the basis for her internship, sparked an interest in teaching and led her to spend four years working in early childhood education.

Back on campus, she co-founded the Diplomatic Club, an initiative that helped her develop leadership skills she now applies in her role at the Brazilian Embassy in Prague.

“Organizing things and giving back to the AAU community helped me to prepare for the job that I’m currently in,” she asserted.

Zlamalová also spoke of the university’s personalized academic environment as a key strength, while echoing Kovalevska’s sentiments regarding the approachability of the professors. As for the future of AAU, she added warmly, “All the best wishes; keep rocking.”

Gala Night served as a bridge between generations and a moment to honor how far the university has come since its inception, along with the people who continue to carry its mission forward. For alumni, it was a return to the community that helped launch their life journeys.

“Hearing directly from Sasha, Lucia, and Benjamin at the Gala was a powerful reminder of what AAU stands for, not just academic excellence, but a global, student-centered education that continues to shape lives long after graduation,” said AAU President Jiří Schwarz. “Their stories affirm the value of the work we do every day and inspire us to continue building a university that empowers students to lead meaningful lives.”

As the evening’s festivities played out, the stories shared by these alumni added a human dimension to the occasion and served as living embodiments of AAU’s mission, as relevant today as it was 35 years ago: to produce graduates equipped to take on the world on their own terms—and succeed.