I want to be sure to tell you about United World College in Pune where Matt and I were hosted last weekend. Also, I wanted you to see how gorgeous I looked (NOT) in the pouring rain in this fun picture of us.
United World College in Pune (check out their website) is part of a system of schools located on 13 different sites around the world including India, Costa Rica (where we at UA have sent two student groups), Italy, New Mexico and more. Their mission is simple but profound: UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. I love this statement because it really goes to the core of what we are trying to accomplish with Global Education.
UWC students come from all over the world and reside at the school- they apply to the system and are later assigned to a particular campus. All of the schools follow the IB curriculum and have only 10th and 11th grades. At this school, students come from over 50 different countries. Our student guide (who was brilliant) is from the Himalayas and she shares a dorm room with another girl from India as well as a girl from Spain and a fourth from Botswana. I can only imagine how much global perspective those students will gain by living together! We also had a young man as our tour guide and he is from upstate New York. His dream is to attend Middlebury (where his sister studies) so you know I really enjoyed talking with him.
While at UWC, we toured the facilities in order to get a feel for how next year's Institute for Student Leaders (ISL) will be organized. The facilities are excellent in terms of classrooms, wireless, etc. Matt and I stayed in rooms at the guest house which was very much like being in a retreat center in the US. The school has extensive land and even has numerous biodiversity trails and a bio-dome (see pic above). We hiked along one somewhat slippery trail (it was raining) and learned all about the medicinal properties of the plants courtesy of our very well-informed student guides.
In addition to the students, we met with several teachers and particularly enjoyed meeting Nandita, Matt's contact at the school, who made all of our arrangements. We had a meeting with the very charming Head of School, Dr. Jonathan Long. He has just arrived at UWC from Scotland and has also lived all over Africa including lots of time in Ghana. He is going to be visiting TCU in Ft. Worth this year so I invited him to visit us in Dallas. We agreed that I will teach him the "proper way" to say "What are ya'll fixin to do?" and he is going to help me perfect my British "riiight".
All in all - a very successful visit!
Cecilia-
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask if the UWC was the same as the one in Las Vegas,NM near where my parents live. Confirmed on the website. I have been there, and they have hosted students for holidays in the past. Sounds like a place that is completely in line with your mission.