Thinking back to my UWC days, I feel like there are simply too many things that I appreciated about my time there. However, if I had to choose one, I would say the community that I found at UWC Maastricht was truly unique and one of a kind. While far from perfect, this community allowed me to finally realize that I am most passionate about people. Some of my best memories from my time there are when I could make a difference in the life of an individual in whatever way possible. I discovered how much fulfillment it brought me just crying together with someone or sharing how I went through a similar situation in the past and how I came out of it. I enjoyed the many different kinds and topics of conversations shared and the laughter that would be heard somewhere on campus at almost any time of the day, and the random tea talks that will spontaneously happen. And yes, as cliché as it may sound, I enjoyed getting to know people regardless of their skin color, nationality, religion or gender background. Through all of this I also began to appreciate growing up with a mixed Indian Chinese ethnicity in Malaysia, as I learned from a young age how to bridge differences and value individuals simply because they too are people.
However, I found that as much as I tried doing for others, I wanted to keep doing more. So, I decided to stand for election for the student council as I saw it as an opportunity to work for the good of the whole student body – and I was voted in. While it wasn’t exactly what I expected, as a student council, we were able to change things for the better at school. It also taught me leadership skills and I learned many lessons through the mistakes I made along the way. Other than working on student council matters, I enjoyed spending my free time doing whatever activity that would permit me to spend time with others. From Ultimate Frisbee to swimming to board games to watching movies together to cooking food for the simple joy of sharing good food with friends. Being in Maastricht gave me the opportunity to travel all over Europe and explore big cities and small towns with my classmates and some of my closest friends. Cherished memories are from spending a few days together walking the streets of the many different places I have been to such as Milan, Prague, Athens, Paris, Glasgow, Bratislava and a number of other places in Europe and Southeast Asia.
It was in this realization of my passion towards people that led me to consider Lewis & Clark college as one of my choices. Though I had nothing to truly base this on, I just felt that it has a similar feel of a community and as an institution is very open and accepting to people from all sorts of backgrounds. I hope to be able to major in one of the social sciences such as sociology, economics or political science although I am very much open to other alternatives. One reason why I’m interested in those fields is my interest in understanding social structures that are created within society. I enjoy seeing these structures represented in literature and the arts and how they have shaped human civilization through the years, and I love to then discuss these with my peers. As you can see, I am also secretly slightly nerdy and love all sorts of nerdy jokes with their hidden meanings and thoroughly enjoy brainy discussions. I could sit with you and share my heart out with you, but I also enjoy discussing the latest scientific discoveries or analyze the latest economic policies and social reforms.
I hope that in Lewis & Clark I will continue to be able to continue to grow and do more about my passion for people, be it the community within the college or the larger community outside. I want to discover where my academic passion truly lies and be able to use what I learn in theory and apply it to impact the lives of individuals and communities.