Red Cross Nordic United World College

In April of 2004 when I was in my last year of high school I came across an organization like no other I had heard of before. United World Colleges is a group of several colleges around the globe with a particular perspective and mission statement. The different campuses were located in more than ten different countries: Canada, USA, Venezuela, Wales, Norway, Italy, Swaziland, India, Hong Kong, and Singapur. As I became more interested in them I contacted the Uruguayan “UWC” National Comitee and applied for a scholarship. After a selection process I was told I had a spot in the UWC in Norway, which was the one I had picked as my first choice. My family and I couldn’t believe the opportunity I had received. Obviously excited, I ventured on and found out that what was waiting in Norway for me was way beyond any of my expectations. For a start, I can say that in my first year, out of two, I had four roomates from the most varied backgrounds; such us: Kazakhstan, Bosnia, India, and Sierra Leone. Sharing the room with them permited me to get to know them pretty well and get an insight to their lives. If the whole school is to be considered diversity would be the first word to appear in my mind; over 200 staff and students from more than 90 different countries.
I was seventeen years old when I started in RCNUWC. It was not an easy task to leave everything behind but the riches of the novelty more than compensated for the absence of what was left behind.
Definitely, it was the inflection point that determined a before and an after. Without it I would have missed the greatest experiences. Because of it, I am here.