Meet Kainat Ansari from Pakistan. After graduating from RCN, she studied Psychology at Whitman College, where she received the Ben Rabinowitz Awards for her community work. Now she continues her studies at the University of Oxford.

Reflecting on my UWC RCN journey brings nothing but tears of joy and gratitude. The place that polished me beyond what I could ever have expected. I grew up in a small slum area of Karachi and had always felt hopeless thinking that I could do nothing to change my life until I came to RCN. RCN brought a sense of optimism and idealism to me at once. Meeting people who shared the same experiences and endurances as I brought a sense of community I had longed for so long.

I remember coming to RCN and meeting my roommates; I was almost so shocked and in awe at the same time realizing that I am surrounded by such diverse people who come from very different backgrounds, and yet we find common grounds to come together. The people who believed in making this world a better and peaceful place. If I start to talk about my whole experience at RCN, it will take hundreds of pages to pen them down. However, I am grateful for the people who made me confident and believe that no matter where I grew up or what society I belonged to, I can be an independent and empathetic person regardless. I am grateful to my peers for giving me such unforgettable experiences. I am grateful for my teacher who once told me, “Kainat, learn to have fun, enjoy your journey; trust me you’re going to places.” Those words gave me the courage and directly and indirectly inspired me to achieve things that I never thought would be possible.

After graduating from RCN, I went to the USA to pursue my undergraduate degree at Whitman College. I am a rising senior, majoring in Psychology. Currently, I am completing my third year at the University of Oxford. I am looking forward to going back to the USA and completing my degree. This summer, I will work as a Psychology Teaching Assistant at Johns Hopkins University CTY program. This year brought me a lot of accomplishments in my life including the Rabinowitz Award. I am selected to do a project regarding the mental health of the BIPOC community at Whitman. I am passionate about raising mental health awareness among underprivileged communities, and I hope to do more work to make the lives of people better.

The purpose of sharing a little about myself was to tell people that I am proud of the work I am doing. I am proud to be called an alumna of UWC RCN. There are so many factors that have contributed to my confidence in dreaming big, and one of them is my experience at RCN. As I pen this article, I am almost tearing up thinking of my journey at RCN and how it has carved out my pathway. This place will always be a sacred place for me, and I hope to see this place again and reflect on my journey and those endless giggles and laughter.