Today, we are thrilled to introduce Sabina Guliyeva from Azerbaijan, a UWC Red Cross Nordic alumna who is now studying computer science and generative AI at Vanderbilt University.

Sabina’s encounter with RCN began by serendipity. An admissions post on Instagram caught her eye just eight minutes before the application deadline, and a few months later, she started studying in Norway, becoming one of the second cohort of students admitted by her relatively new national committee which has been established in 2022.

“At that time, my national committee would get three to four spots a year, and we wouldn’t know which school would give us a spot. I didn’t even think about RCN when I was applying, and I told my friends that Norway would never, ever give us a spot. But here is what they did and I got there,” said Sabina, reminiscing about her application process, a trace of bubbling excitement still visible on her face.

For her, being the first ever Azerbaijani student at RCN means both challenges and growth.  

“When I first arrived, I did not have a second-year student and could not speak my language with anyone on campus. We had this book where you could sign your name, and the rector at the time was trying to find a previous person from my country. But  I told him, ‘ Do not try. There is no one there.’

“In a good way, it pushed me to be friends with more people outside of my culture and end up seeing the positive things about it . At the same time, it feels like that you are becoming the footprint for future students who will come to the school after you.”

As Sabina’s life in RCN gradually unfolded, she began to embrace the “utopian-like” experience and thrived on the picturesque campus dwelling beside the Nordic fjord.

“RCN is one of the places where you have the choice to actually launch so many things. Before I came here, I began getting interested in fashion in my second year.  So I talked to a few teachers in school and started a Project-Based Learning initiative, where we would design clothing with fabrics for the whole PBL time, whenever people wanted. 

“Seven or eight students were there and they really enjoyed it. We stayed until about six at night, just designing things solely because we wanted to. And school helped us find machines and materials. 


“And there are so many other things you could get involved with. For example, there is the second-year Oslo trip where we attend a news festival, and we also get to participate in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. None of the other UWCs do that.”

Such a multifaceted, rich life shapes Sabina into more than just a student. In her own words: “In the last two years, I have been studying, but at the same time I have never felt like a full-time student—neither at RCN nor at any time.”

This influence doesn’t fade after graduation; instead, it endures and follows her into the university life at Vanderbilt across the ocean.

“At this moment, there are many more things I’m working on. I’m having a startup with a friend in the U.S, and at the same time, there is my fashion life — I am going to attend some fashion shows at the end of this month. It is the intersection of these side projects that constructs my life piece by piece. And when I look back, this is very similar to how I did things at RCN.”

When asked what more she had learned from her time at RCN, Sabina reflected, “For me, the past two years have made me a person who could look at the world critically and see the positivity in the world, because it’s such a positive environment.”

“At UWC, everybody shares at least the same core beliefs or very similar ones, so you get used to people advocating for the change — in the world, in their small communities, or just within themselves. Then, by talking to as many people as possible and trying to learn from them, you not only want to become a smart and successful person, but also one who can actually make a difference in the world. 

“After UWC, I had this feeling that what I really want to do is to give back to my country in some way, even if I’m not physically there.”

Gradually turning her words into action, Sabina is enthusiastically planning on launching a “fashion-tech” project in Baku after she returns home in the upcoming August.

“While I was working in fashion, one thing I realized is that although Azerbaijan has a large consumer population for fashion, we do not have any fashion tech ecosystem. So when I go back there in August, I would like to talk to people who are based there and could help me to start a fashion shopping platform focused on sizing and AI molding, while incorporating fashion elements. So when people are buying clothing, they could use this platform to mathematically calculate their size and solve issues such as whether the clothes would fit correctly.”

All these cherished memories and lessons from RCN makes it especially hard for Sabina to say farewell. A year on, she could still freshly remember the very last day when she sat in the departure bus and uncontrollably cried, watching her friend leaving one by one.

“After living with people for two years, I got close to them and they are more than my family. You know that you will probably be back on this campus in ten years for a minimum time, but you never know when you’re going to see your friends again. 

“When you are still staying there at RCN, you would probably take so many things for granted. But I believe when you move out, you are gonna realize how much you will miss these years.”

In closing, no two RCN students share the same experience, yet there is always something that flows between us and keeps us connected — regardless of ethnicity, nationality and personality — such is what Sabina has said, explained and shared. It resonates with all of us, and will never fade away.

Written by Vivian Wu (RCN ’27) and Bekayim Duishenbieva (RCN ’27)