Sonia Soledad Leiva, or Sole, is a 20 year old student from Argentina.

Sole is a welcome addition to our student body and has shown herself to be committed to the scholarship she has taken. She knows that her English abilities will need to be improved for her to attempt the IB diploma after the Foundation Year but she has shown a real commitment and drive to achieve this.

Sole’s favourite subject in Argentina was Biology, in particular the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Since arriving at RCN, she is interested in developing a broad subject range and is waiting to see what she will enjoy most in the future. She has always been interested in working in education and wants to continue to explore this, but now she is attending UWC – and hearing the aspirations of others – she is considering how best to achieve this.

It is already clear that given the opportunity Sole will grasp it with both hands. She is a capable and mature student with a real sense of respect and gratitude for the chance she has been given and is determined to make the best of this scholarship.

Omar Baiba Mohamed Salem is 17 years old and from Western Sahara.

Omar has come to RCN with a sense of pride in his achievements, and rightly so! He is as keen a student as you could meet and is always looking to the next challenge. He has already started to contribute to our community in many positive ways and we look forward to watching him flour-ish during his time with us.

He claims that he has no favourite subject as all subjects are his favourite – given his enthusiasm during the four week RCN Summer Course and then the start of term, we at RCN can easily believe this!

After RCN, Omar would like to work as a programmer, preferably in the green sector, and if not then a programmer then he wants to be involved in working towards a more sustainable green future. With this opportunity he is sure to make the very best of it and is finally one step closer to achieving his goals.

Chat Vy, at 24, is one of the oldest from our Survivors of Conflict programme and is from Cambodia.

As someone who is confined to a wheelchair, Chat has had to overcome many physical barriers in his education up to this point. He has taken the opportunity to attend UWC Red Cross Nordic and is throwing himself into his lessons and into an entirely new social circle by embracing the UWC values.

When it comes to subject choice within the Foundation Year, Chat is really looking forward to his Mathematics as this is his favourite subject. He wants to get deeper into the subject and build his knowledge and challenge himself. Post RCN, Chat would like to be involved in social projects and wants to be in a managerial position so he can enact change in Cambodia. Chat is a charming young man with a steady approach to his studies who is sure to capitalise on this opportunity and is very happy that he has been given the chance to develop himself here at RCN.

Simon Ramsay (Foundation Year Programme Coordinator)

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