Aryan Sahai, Grade 11
UWCSEA (East)
Everyday, I realise how fortunate I am to be able to meet people who vary in race, culture, color, background, beliefs, and experiences to me at UWCSEA East Campus. But most importantly, I realised that there are 17 other UWC campuses with thousands of students and millions of stories that may never be heard.
In pursuit of finding these stories and sharing them with as many people as possible, I decided to create this UWC magazine “United Worldwide,” featuring student-written, personal articles that reflect what it means to be a UWC student. I wanted to use my passion for writing in order to unite people. In order to truly realise our mission of ‘making education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and sustainable future’, we need to first be united amongst ourselves.
I started by looking for contacts from each school’s websites, Google, and LinkedIn. I initially only received a few replies. With the multitude of interconnected ideas overlapping in my head like an uncoordinated spider’s web, I was unable to communicate myself clearly. Hence, I had to clear up my own thoughts, and in doing so designed a manual explaining what United Worldwide is about.
The first campus I got a response from was UWC East Africa's Arusha Campus, and I had the opportunity to connect with passionate writers who wanted to be part of this initiative. After scheduling video calls on WhatsApp, I was finally able to put faces to names. To be able to meet these people who showed interest in this global initiative was so heartwarming; their welcoming smiles and polite greetings made me realise that there is a whole world unexplored, filled with kindness and unique people.
But things soon plateaued.
Time was ticking, and stories were being lost.
In pursuit of finding these stories and sharing them with as many people as possible, I decided to create this UWC magazine “United Worldwide,” featuring student-written, personal articles that reflect what it means to be a UWC student. I wanted to use my passion for writing in order to unite people. In order to truly realise our mission of ‘making education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and sustainable future’, we need to first be united amongst ourselves.
I started by looking for contacts from each school’s websites, Google, and LinkedIn. I initially only received a few replies. With the multitude of interconnected ideas overlapping in my head like an uncoordinated spider’s web, I was unable to communicate myself clearly. Hence, I had to clear up my own thoughts, and in doing so designed a manual explaining what United Worldwide is about.
The first campus I got a response from was UWC East Africa's Arusha Campus, and I had the opportunity to connect with passionate writers who wanted to be part of this initiative. After scheduling video calls on WhatsApp, I was finally able to put faces to names. To be able to meet these people who showed interest in this global initiative was so heartwarming; their welcoming smiles and polite greetings made me realise that there is a whole world unexplored, filled with kindness and unique people.
But things soon plateaued.
Time was ticking, and stories were being lost.
The most unique method of contacting people only came later; I was scrolling through my social media and saw that one of the UWC’s had gone live on Instagram and I was able to find connections through the school’s page. I was overwhelmed with the warm reception I received, despite being a stranger emerging from nowhere, just because I am a part of the UWC family.
From debate prodigies to Shakespeare-esque poets, football fanatics, budding world leaders, and - most importantly - fabulous writers, I have had the opportunity to meet such motivational people. I have been left speechless at how helpful and compassionate every person I have communicated with has been. I have looked forward to sending every email, to taking every call, and to reading every article I received. Through each of our editions, I want to celebrate the hard work that everyone who is a part of United Worldwide has put in. From all the staff members that have helped make this a possibility and to all the students that spent hours on end writing these articles, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. I am extremely grateful for everyone’s contribution throughout this whole process of bringing this dream alive. So far this has been my journey worldwide, about our UWC family, about uniting thousands of students, staff members, parents, and alumni across the globe. Now, let’s take it forward, share our stories, and make this Our Journey Worldwide. |
A special thank you to Ms. Kate Levy, Head of HS English at UWCSEA East Campus, who has been an inspiration for me in this journey. |
www.unitedworldwide.co