Rosie Pegna and Daniel Strangward will be joining the incoming class of 2022 this year at UWC Atlantic and UWC Mostar. When the UWC Great British national committee told them about their scholarship offers they described themselves as being “over the moon, jumping for joy!” (Rosie) and “feeling pure elation that was indescribable” (Daniel). 

Their excitement for the next step ahead spanned the many different areas that UWC alums reading this will recognise well: 

“There are so many things that I am incredibly excited for when I go to UWC Mostar! Exploring a new country, IB Maths, cycling, volunteering to help street dogs… but most of all, I can’t wait to meet all of the incredible people that will be going there with me” was Daniel’s answer, while Rosie also expressed her excitement to meet the people she will spend the next two years of her life with: 

“There are so many different aspects of UWC that I am excited about, but if it had to be one singular thing, it would probably be the diversity of people from every corner of the world who I will meet, with all their amazing perspectives and stories.These are the kind of people who will make a difference in the world and I am very much of the mindset that the people I will meet at UWC, as well as the education and experiences I will have there, will shape my outlook and my life.”

However, alongside the excitement Rosie and Daniel immediately felt, came the news that some of the friends they met at the selection weekend, although they were offered places, were not going to be able to join UWC as not enough scholarships were available, a situation that has been made even more difficult with the financial instability accompanying the COVID-19 crisis. That’s when Rosie and Daniel kicked into action. They decided to set up fundraisers to raise money for future UWC scholarships so that, in Daniel’s words, “no other students would need to reject their place due to a lack of financial resources.” 

To this end, Daniel took on the challenge of cycling 2650 km over 100 days - the distance from UWC Atlantic to UWC Maastricht to UWC Robert Bosch College to UWC Adriatic and then finally to UWC Mostar. His journey started on 1 April and has seen him cycling every day without fail, keeping a detailed blog of his rides on his Facebook and Instagram pages. 

Rosie meanwhile is preparing to swim the length of the English channel and is currently keeping her fitness up while waiting for the swimming pools to re-open -  practicing her strokes in the kitchen instead for the time-being. You can follow her progress on her Youtube channel, Facebook and Instagram page.

Rosie and Daniel are both already working incredibly hard to pave the way forward for more UWC students - just like they are about to be - to access a UWC education, regardless of their socio-economic background. You can support Rosie and Daniel’s efforts at the links below.