Heidi

It is a community with huge amounts of knowledge, idealism and skills, and our challenge is to turn all that to actions and actual changes.

What were you first impressions of UWC?
This first month in Pearson has been a great experience. It is already starting to seem like home with all the routines and great, open and kind people, but every now and then I stop to think about what actually is happening and how amazing and unique it is.

One thing that I find especially great here is living on campus in general. We do everything together, from watching movies and going running to helping each other with homework and telling things about our home countries, and that is one big factor that makes UWC and Pearson so unique.

Living as a small community here is also very interesting. We have our student jobs, village meetings and service - things that everyone contributes to that make this place work. It is a community with huge amounts of knowledge, idealism and skills, and our challenge is to turn all that to actions and actual changes.
One thing I love here is that people here are enthusiastic to try new things.

What’s been the hardest or most challenging thing about UWC so far?
A challenging thing here is to find the balance between studying, activities and socialising without forgetting basic things like sleeping and exercising. No matter how hard you try, you will never get as much of everything as you would like, but that is one thing you have to deal with. Other hard thing is home sickness but in my opinion a right kind of attitude helps a lot. If you live in the moment and try to get as much as possible out of this opportunity, you won’t miss home all the time. And luckily, if you are missing your family and friends, you can go talk to your new friends here. And we have Skype!

How are you finding the IB?
I am taking English A1, French B, Math HL, Biology, Chemistry and Economics. I find all of my subjects very interesting. I love challenging myself and with my subjects and really get to do that a lot. Although the IB program is very demanding, it is also very rewarding because you start to understand the world in a different way.

What I really like about the lessons are the discussions that we have in class and that often go on even after the class. We have so many different kinds of points of view because we have so many different kinds of people. And even if you don’t agree with someone, you have learned a new way to look at the question.

Of the activities and services have your chosen to do and why?
I chose diving and photography, as they are things that I am very interested in, and help me relax. At the same time they also offer a challenge for me to develop myself on those areas. Social Entrepreneurs is my service activity and I chose it to learn about socially responsible entrepreneurship and to try it myself. So far I have enjoyed all my activities a lot!