International Students and Scholars - Lewis & Clark

Davis United World College Scholar
Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Canada)

I was born in the city of Lviv, which is situated in western Ukraine, and despite the fact that I no longer live there, I still consider it to be my home. When the time came for me to go to school, my family decided to move to the capital of my country, Kyiv.  I lived in Kyiv for the last 10 years of school.

During the school years I became interested in ecology and developed a special interest in geography. Geography still fascinates me today.  One of my main extracurricular interests in school was soccer, to which I dedicated nine long years of my life. Unfortunately, because of injuries and other factors, I wasn’t able to continue my participation on the team. Afterward, I developed interests in various areas, such as tennis, coin collecting, poetry and photography.  I remain really passionate about these interests and I spend a fair amount of time obtaining new skills in these areas. 

I was not granted a UWC scholarship on my first attempt, but I was persistent.  I re-applied and received a scholarship to UWC Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific. The two years that I spent there were crucial in forming my personality as well as my worldview. I am sincerely grateful to Lester B. Pearson UWC, and especially to the people who made me change my views and destroyed the many stereotypes I had. I used all the opportunities given to me at the UWC to gain as much international experience as possible because the opportunity was definitely unique. I tried my best not to miss any chance to broaden my views. After making friends from all over the world, I am really strong in my belief that community benefits significantly from various perspectives.

Right now I hope that I will be able to integrate all the experience I received at UWC Pearson College at Lewis & Clark. Once, when Brian White, Associate Director of International Students and Scholars,  arrived to give us the presentation about Lewis & Clark, one of the questions he asked us was: “What are you searching for in a university”. My answer was that I strongly believe that it is essential that my personality fit into the values and goals of the university. I still think this is true and that’s the main reason why I chose Lewis & Clark. I truly believe that this is the college that will match my personality as well as my interests in both academic and extracurricular life. I am also really pleased with the attitude Lewis & Clark has towards international students.  I felt valued by L&C and it contributed greatly towards my decision. I really hope that the next four years of my stay at L&C will advance of my areas of interest and help me enjoy learning and living.