I have come a long way and I could not have completed the journey alone. I especially want to thank all teachers and staff of the School. Thank you for guiding me when I was lost and confused. Your help is just like the light in the darkness, which gave me courage to keep going forward.

My UWC dream

“I am just like a piece of dust, coming into the world all by accident. Nobody could tell how ‘fragile’ I am”. This is a line from the song “The Grateful Heart” which depicts how I felt like years ago.

My ID card shows that I come from Henan Province although I was born and grew up in Beijing. I am an “outsider or migrant” in Beijing from a legal perspective, which means that I cannot go to a public school and enjoy free education. I heard about  a non-profit and charitable middle school – Dandelion and got in  after graduating from a primary school.  The School aims to provide equal education for low-income migrant families like myself.

At Dandelion, I heard that some excellent alumni got admitted by UWC (United World Colleges) with full scholarship. I got to know that students are selected by national committees from many different countries and regions of the world regardless of their family background. I was eager to know more about the world that is different from mine since I had to make a choice between staying in Beijing and applying to study at UWC or go back to “Henan Province” for the Chinese college entrance examination. (According to the rules, students are not allowed to take the Exam at provinces where you don’t have a permanent residence card.) In the end, I made up my mind to seize the opportunity.

On a summer day in 2015, I somehow got an offer from UWC Changshu China with full scholarship and I was thrilled with excitement in. In the autumn of 2015, I walked into my dream school “UWC Changshu China” and started my life-changing experience.

George Li, first row at the left 

“Everyone is an individual, a global citizen”

“Everyone is an individual, a global citizen” is what I have found  at UWC. Before coming to UWC, I used to feel inferior because of my family background and financial condition; I used to think everything in the U.S. is better because I couldn’t help follow what others’ think. After coming to UWC, I found that nobody looks down upon you because of your family background. Although we all come from different family backgrounds we support each other and understand each other.

I learnt to think critically. For instance, people tend to think all Americans are rich, all Africans are poor, but these thoughts are stereotypes.

Now I only see individuals here rather than people attached with many different “labels”. Now I only see a confident student playing basketball, a thoughtful student talking with others, a hardworking student studying late in the night.

Now, I do not feel inferior because of my family background since no one here judges a person based on his or her family background. I do not think all Africans are poor anymore.  I try to avoid stereotypes when I am thinking of someone because everyone is an individual, a global citizen. We should get to know a person from his/her/their mind.  In UWC, we learned to understand and appreciate the differences.

Enjoying my birthday with friends 

UWC provides the fertile soil for everyone to grow in his or her way and become more confident

UWC encourages students to step out of their “comfort zone”. I got to know more about myself and I am more confident now.  Although students come from different countries and speak English with different accents, they will not laugh at you because your English is not good; at the beginning, I could not even understand fully what is discussed at a meeting, what is the arrangement of an activity or an interesting conversation at the meal table.

I worried a lot because I could not fit myself into this entirely new environment at the beginning.  Later on, I tried to listen to others’ conversations attentively and tried to join their conversations bit by bit. I just kept trying. As a result, my speaking and listening ability improved gradually. I never said anything in meetings before. Then I started to speak out my own ideas.

Teachers, students and staff all encourage us to try things we’ve never tried before. They always use the quote of German educator Kurt Hahn, founder of UWC, to encourage us: “There is more in you than you think”.

In a Zhixing program

UWC encourages students to challenge themselves

UWC experience has expanded my horizon and provided me the opportunity to explore my potential. I first started my favorite interest of “Parkour” at Grade 9. I have changed a lot after practicing it for four years. It has turned me from a weak boy to a stronger, more confident and more outgoing young man. I also enjoy the happy time I spend with my parkour teammates and the time we do incredible movements.

I have seen many creative students organizing their own activities at UWC. Some students successfully put up a fashion show for fundraising, some organized the celebration of important festivals of their own cultures, and others encouraged us to pick up the trash nearby Kuncheng Lake in order to raise people’s awareness of environmental protection. Their actions made me realize that I can turn my ideas into reality through action.

So, I set up a CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service, also called Zhixing) called “Fitness & Parkour”  in order to give more people the opportunity to benefit from “Parkour”. I also got help from my Zhixing supervisor Zachary, who got training in gymnastics for many years. This Zhixing has been going on for half a year now. The training is hard. Even though there are students who do not really like it and quit after a while, there are still some students who keep coming for “Fitness & Parkour” every week.

I have never organized anything before. Now I have improved my organizational skills and teaching skills with the help of my supervisor. As for my teammates, they were not confident at the beginning, now they have become much more courageous. They barely could do parkour movements before, now they can do front-roll, climb some short walls and jump around some obstacles. I am very happy with their improvement. I also want them to know that “failures can make you stronger”.

With my friends 

My college dream came true

I applied to Bennington College for the early decision round in November because I believed it would be a good fit for me.  I was so excited to receive the offer notification in December. I also got a need-based grant from Bennington College and the UWC Davis scholarship so that I do not have to worry about high tuition fees. I am really looking forward to starting my college life at Bennington.

Gratitude

I have come a long way and I could not have completed the journey alone. I especially want to thank all teachers and staff of the School. Thank you for guiding me when I was lost and confused. Your help is just like the light in the darkness, which gave me courage to keep going forward.

I particularly want to thank the experienced and dedicated Vice Principal Teacher Li. It was because of Teacher Li that I fell in love with literature. I always remember the long hours she spent sitting carefully correcting papers for students. She always talks with me and gives me advice on my school assignment after classes.

I also want to thank Teacher Zhu. She helped me organize my time better when I was under pressure due to my school work and felt depressed. She helped me to relax and not to be nervous so that I could keep on.

I want to thank the experienced college counselor Tim. He helped me find my own efficient working routine and constantly encouraged me. His words were so touching and comforting to me: “George, do not worry, we will find you a home”.

I want to thank my gentle German teacher Teodora and my physics teacher Mou for writing my recommendation letters despite of their busy working schedule. I want to thank my cute Economics Teacher Suvash for helping me with economics after the class. I want to thank my crew from last year and my crew leader Stephanie: you made me feel the love and care of a family. I want to thank the UWC community: you helped me grow.

I want to thank my cute and clever friend Kato whom I met this summer volunteering in Dandelion school’s English summer camp. She wrote me a recommendation letter. I also want to thank Aunt Chen who helped me to focus on my important assignments. I want to thank my family for their support. I want to thank so many people. Your support and help were so important for me to keep motivated and never give up.

I am really grateful to have gotten into Dandelion school and UWC Changshu China. I want to thank UWC Changshu China for providing me with the opportunity to truly know myself, improve myself and explore my own potential and interests. Apart from that, UWC has provided me with the special opportunity of making friends with young people from around the world. UWC experience has changed my view of the world and how I look at myself  So many people have helped me on my journey, no matter what I will do in future,  I will always try to help others as much as I can.