I’m Enoch, a first-year currently studying at UWC Atlantic College.

“Exploration” is a word that perfectly describes my first term at AC. After arriving at this school with people from all over the world, I made a decision to try more new things. Last year I was studying pre-IB at UWC Changshu China, but I prioritized my projects and grades more than exploring the experience and the activities. At the end of the last year, I was left with many projects, but I felt that I lacked many crucial UWC experiences that define a UWC student. This year, I wanted to explore a bit more, so I started joining more activities and make myself more engaged with the community.

At the end of this term, I’ve made many more friends and became engaged with many more community events. I realized how much more we could learn from each other if we just knew each other more. And because I’ve made an effort to know people better, I was able to assemble a team of programmers and artists (my classmates and friends) to work together on making a game to promote sustainability in our school. We are working with the sustainability council in our school to promote its eco-bricks initiative. This is the first time I’ve worked on a project with other people, and I’m very excited because we could get much more done as a team than as individuals. All this is thanks to the decision I made to be more social and to try to know people better.

I’ve also experienced much academic growth this term. During my year at UWC Changshu China, I chose subjects that I wanted to continue for my two years of IB diploma program. However, UWC Atlantic College didn’t provide some of the subjects I was planning on taking like DT (Design and Technology) and German. So I had to change my subject choices to Visual Arts and Spanish instead. I was very disappointed that I couldn’t take DT at first, but after the two major art assignments this term, I have grown to love visual arts as a subject. I’m really lucky to have a supportive art teacher who encourages us to try new mediums and appreciate different kinds of art. And although I may not be taking art in university, I’m positive my training and experience here will benefit me in the future.

I’ve also taken this term as an opportunity to explore the many student-run events and councils in our school. I occasionally attended student-led workshops and presentations to learn more about many different topics. Seeing my classmates and friends present about something so foreign to me yet so personal to them is an experience only possible when there are people coming from different cultural backgrounds and contexts. I used this opportunity to learn more about other countries’ history, culture, and wars and conflicts. These stories have given me a whole new perspective to view the world and have made me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a safe and stable environment. It really amazes me how many events in this school are completely student-run. Seeing the second years organize these wonderful events while facing the overwhelming pressure of third term is truly inspiring.

I’ve also become much more active since I got here. I played volleyball with my friends about three times a week and also occasionally attended afro-dance sessions hosted by my friends. The culture in this school is very different from what I could experience in Taiwan, so I want to make the most of it so that I will be able to look back at these two years and not regret anything. Just like last year, there has been a lot of growth, but this time it may be less visible because it cannot be materialized into projects or numbers. I’m glad I have the opportunity to experience this diverse and eventful place, where all opinions can be heard and acknowledged. I believe I have successfully pushed myself out of my minuscule comfort zone and thus experienced invaluable growth.