Samuel Ruiz Flanagan, Grade 11
UWC Dilijan
I think that most UWC students have been asked at least once “what is UWC?”. And although it may come across as a simple question, it really isn’t. There are so many ways that you could answer it; you could go for the simple “UWC is a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future”; or you could say that it is “a set of international boarding schools which are located all over the world”; you could even say that “it is a place for me to become more independent”; and so many more different options. However, after some reflection, I came to the conclusion that UWC is, at least for students, whatever they remember or imagine it as. And for me, as a soon to be second-year student at UWC Dilijan in Armenia, it is a set of locations.
What I mean by this is that whenever I think about my past year at UWCD, I think about a certain place, which has a certain memory attached to it. The “riverside” projector room may be the best example. Whenever I think of that place, it reminds me of long movie marathons with friends, or with a group which - for no apparent reason - I ended up watching a movie with. It also reminds me of endless study nights, during which my friend and I stayed up polishing the philosophy essays we had to hand in the next morning. Or even of that short video we had to record for Lang and Lit.
However, the locations aren’t just places in the school, also out in Dilijan, like the park where we spent our afternoons or went running in. Or Yerevan’s bus stop where we waited for the “marshrutka”, which is the bus that takes people from Dilijan to Yerevan and vice versa. And Yerevan’s Northern Avenue where we would always bump into other UWCers. In Tbilisi, Georgia, I also have locations, like the Thrift Shops where we bought half of their stock, or Fabrika, the old soviet factory which is now a hostel, for example. And back in London with my coyear, or in Albania when I visited my friend. Or even, during quarantine, my desk back in the UK where I spent hours doing online lessons!
UWC is a collection of locations - or “a bundle” as the philosopher Hume would say - and any place in the world can become one of those locations with which you associate different parts of your UWC experience as long as you take the “UWC spirit” with you, spreading the movement like a Big Tree!
What I mean by this is that whenever I think about my past year at UWCD, I think about a certain place, which has a certain memory attached to it. The “riverside” projector room may be the best example. Whenever I think of that place, it reminds me of long movie marathons with friends, or with a group which - for no apparent reason - I ended up watching a movie with. It also reminds me of endless study nights, during which my friend and I stayed up polishing the philosophy essays we had to hand in the next morning. Or even of that short video we had to record for Lang and Lit.
However, the locations aren’t just places in the school, also out in Dilijan, like the park where we spent our afternoons or went running in. Or Yerevan’s bus stop where we waited for the “marshrutka”, which is the bus that takes people from Dilijan to Yerevan and vice versa. And Yerevan’s Northern Avenue where we would always bump into other UWCers. In Tbilisi, Georgia, I also have locations, like the Thrift Shops where we bought half of their stock, or Fabrika, the old soviet factory which is now a hostel, for example. And back in London with my coyear, or in Albania when I visited my friend. Or even, during quarantine, my desk back in the UK where I spent hours doing online lessons!
UWC is a collection of locations - or “a bundle” as the philosopher Hume would say - and any place in the world can become one of those locations with which you associate different parts of your UWC experience as long as you take the “UWC spirit” with you, spreading the movement like a Big Tree!
www.unitedworldwide.co