Semester at Sea

Åse Rustad Kvisberg, RCN graduate from 2013, was selected to participate in  the ‘Semester at Sea‘ programme. This opportunity, for one UWC student from each College, is sponsored by Shelby Davis. This is Åse’s report:

Semester At Sea is an extraordinary experience with  immense potential for participants. It offers a broad scope of classes, amazing itineraries and a large, whilst intimate, community. I cannot say that this voyage has affected me more than my time at RCN, nothing probably ever will, but it has complemented my UWC experience in various of ways. At RCN I was exposed to an incredible range of cultures and SAS has enabled me to physically visit many of these. Through my engagement with the countries I have visited though this voyage, I have benefited greatly from the cultural sensitivity and respect that the intercultural diversity at RCN taught me.

Semester At Sea is in many cases portrayed as an enjoyable traveling experience, which is true, but the programme is in theory equally academic. I am taking four classes which are college-level subjects, with regular quizzes, essays and exams. Just as in any other situation each individual chooses how much to commit; so the level of participation and dedication from my classmates varies. Never the less, the academic situation is very similar to that of RCN; I live very close to my teachers and the teachers are very dedicated to their subjects. Another great thing about SAS is that the subjects are supposed to be angled towards the countries on the itinerary, which makes it possible to apply most of what I learn all the time!

The social life and living situation at SAS is just as intense as at RCN. We are living in fairly small cabins with another randomly selected person, and are constantly surrounded by the other 1000 passengers and we have very restricted space. The voyage is also intense; academics, social life and traveling – especially during intense legs of the voyage with only two days between ports. I have met just as many amazing people as I did at RCN and I have had a splendid time connecting with my UWC co-years and meeting UWC alumni in port.

I have felt that SAS has provided me with larger cultural challenges than RCN. I am living in a fully American context, so I have had to understand, accept and adapt to this – which has both been interesting and challenging  (a general consensus among the UWC students).

For me it all comes down to personal effort. You can slack off as some students do or you can take advantage of the absolutely extraordinary experience SAS offers; live on a ship for four months in the ultimate academic village, learn a huge amount about the countries you are visiting, experience diverse and fascinating cultures and ultimately have an incredibly nice time!

 

2018-10-16T09:33:46+01:00March 27th, 2014|

Roving Fulbright Scholar

Flannery Burke, a UWC-USA graduate and currently a Roving Fulbright Scholar in Norway, has been visiting the College. Flannery was invited to address the community at the start of the ‘Happiness’ Global Concerns Day – talking about what makes her happy. As her subject she chose Light; specifically the clear, bright light of Los Angeles where she lived for some years. Her talk was poetic in her descriptions, and inspiring as she talked of the power of human diversity. It was a great way to start the day! Later, she delivered a World Today presentation giving a personal view of aspects of US history, politics and culture.

We have been very pleased that she was able to visit us.

2018-10-16T09:33:46+01:00March 22nd, 2014|

A Trip to Rome

Second year student Lina Sadovskaja from Lithuania entered a competition sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The competition required that participants submit a text, video, audio clip or image on the theme of Europe in 2030. Lina submitted the New Year address from the President of the European Parliament in the year 2030 and hers was one of the winning entries. The prize for the selected winners was a trip to Rome to attend workshops and panel discussions. This is her report:

Having submitted an essay, and then being selected as one of the successful participants in the “Your Vision, Your Future, Your Europe” competition, I was invited by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, along with the other prizewinners from across Europe, to join their ‘Youth Election Arena’ panel with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. As the event was being held in Rome, and I had never been there before, I was filled with excitement.

Martin Schultz (front right) speaking during the event. Lina sits back and centre.

Martin Schultz (front right) speaking during the event

Prior to my departure I had a sit-down with Economics teacher, Rudy Herrera Marmol to broaden my understanding of the financial aspects of EU politics. My deepened understanding proved to be of great help in Rome, where we were first asked to prepare questions about the future of Europe in a workshop. Ultimately, my question was phrased like this:

“With the possibility of another Eurozone crisis in the coming 10 years, the measures taken – that is the Banking Union’s anti-crisis insurance along with crisis loans from particular governments – will barely be enough to bail out one or perhaps two moderately-sized banks. As we are obviously not ready for another crisis, what measures will be taken to prepare an effective response?”

Much to my surprise the event was given a lot of media attention; as it was being covered by several news stations from various countries it was hard not to be nervous. Mr. Schulz very humbly took more time than he was given to thoroughly discuss every single one of our questions. I was very impressed by his professionalism and frankness as, for example, in one of his answers, without hesitation he admitted that English had to be the lingua franca of the Union.

The following day some of us participants were invited to attend the Election Congress of the Party of European Socialists. Without having any specific allegiance to the party, I was still happy to experience my very first political congress. This was certainly the highlight of Martin Schulz’s presence in Rome as he was to be formally elected the PES candidate for the European Commission Presidency.

I would like to thank the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung for this tremendous opportunity.

Lina Sadovskaja (Lithuania) 

2018-10-16T09:33:47+01:00March 20th, 2014|
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