May 2017 – Page 2 – UWC Red Cross Nordic

Sara Al-Husaynat (’16-’19)

Edmund Cluett2018-10-16T09:32:09+01:00May 8th, 2017|

Sara, from Iraq, is one of our students on the Foundation Programme. She was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) – brittle bone disease. She has a fragile body and significantly reduced stamina, but her character is strong, her mind is sharp and inquisitive, and she possesses a well-developed sense of humour. In Iraq, she explained, children are supposed to go to school at the age of 6. However, at the time when children of her age were starting school, she was embarking on years of operations and physiotherapy, mainly in Austria. Her father became a volunteer with SAAR (Society for Austro-Arab Relations) after a chance encounter in a hospital in Basra when he was seeking medical help for his daughter. This organization has funded Sara’s treatment, among other things. Eventually Sara started school at the age of 8. In her mainstream school it was difficult to be in a wheelchair and she was afraid of her boisterous classmates who ”kept jumping around” and easily could have fractured one of her bones in play. Her mother accompanied her to school and sat in classes with her every single day throughout her school career.

When Sara was offered a scholarship to study in Norway, her family was understandably concerned about the potential risks. To make this possible, Sara’s father was invited to accompany Sara to the 3-week RCN Summer Course, giving him the opportunity to meet with staff, observe practices, advise us on the support Sara might need, and much more.

Sara with her advisor

Sara faces a lot of challenges here, learning to get around in her electric wheelchair, adapting to the winter weather, figuring out how to meet the demands of the daily schedule without getting exhausted. When she needs to rest for an extended period to recover her energy and get relief from discomfort, she sometimes has to takes a day off, which is one of the reasons why she feels very grateful to join the Foundation Programme. For many participants int he programme, it gives them the chance to get used to an English-speaking environment. In Sara’s case, it enables her body to get used to the environment. Now much more comfortable with the academic systems and the residential expectations, she is learning to manage her time, gaining understanding of how to cope with very different demands from what she is used to. She is looking forward to returning as a confident First Year student in August, 2017.

One of Sara’s greatest joys here is meeting people from different backgrounds. Back home she could not see her friends easily outside the academic day and it was hard to develop strong friendships. Here she is able to chat with her friends at any time, communicating in Arabic, English and German. She is also learning Norwegian as part of her Foundation timetable, along with a full programme of lessons. She is very grateful for the safe community, teachers, the Extra Academic Activities (EAC), and Project-based Learning weeks. Through “The Knights” EAC, she is trying new activities such as canoeing, kayaking and swimming, savouring the fresh air and beautiful nature around her. Working closely with a physiotherapist at the Red Cross Rehabilitation Centre which shares our campus, she is becoming more aware of what her body is capable of doing. Through Haugland she has also met others with OI for the first time.

“I find my new life wonderful, but hard. Thanks to the Foundation Year that difficulty is slowly decreasing.”

For profiles and news of other students and alumni, click here.

Investment Competition

Edmund Cluett2018-10-16T09:32:10+01:00May 8th, 2017|

Four of our students were given the opportunity to travel to The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to participate in the final of an investment competition. The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Here is the report written by Yash Ramchandani, one of our participants:

With the trophy

A little over half a year ago three of my best friends and I had a conversation about sustainable and ethical investing. As a result, we started on a journey to prove that it is indeed very possible. We founded a Trading Club (EAC) at teh College with the sole purpose of accumulating knowledge about investing sustainably and ethically. By November we had gained the confidence to enroll a team in Wharton School of Business’ Global Investment Competition for High School students. The competition consists of a 10-week trading period with deadlines for mid-term and final investment strategies. In this way, every team has to prove that their approach to the stock market generates satisfying returns and is well-structured.

Our investment strategy was built on the same values as the UWC movement as we believe that the reputation of the financial services has long been blighted by actions that do not, of necessity, need to be linked to the field of investing. In fact, we have come to believe that investment has the potential to invoke positive change in our societies. In April we were informed that we had qualified for the Global Final taking place at Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia U.S. Here, the 15 top teams would pitch their investment strategy to a jury. The jury consisted of professional investors and asset managers. The Final also included a learning day where we heard from influential guest speakers, the admissions office and had a campus tour.

Today, we find that we came third in the competition having started with more than 600 competing teams from all over the world. We never even dared to dream of such an achievement but it is indeed a product of hard work and humility. Today, we stand as proud of the journey towards the final as of the result itself. We hope to repeat the success next year where we will work even harder to communicate our idea of ethical and sustainable investing.

Here is an audio interview with the team, from the Wharton website.