Ernesto Monge Marin

UWC attended: United World College Costa Rica
Class Year: Class of 2022

My name is Ernesto Monge, and I’m from the capital of Costa Rica, San José. I just graduated from UWC Costa Rica, the home of my closest family, all from different mothers and different lands but with the same love towards life and people. UWC (borrowing the words of my second year Noé) cannot be defined, only experienced. I can say, however, that these last two years forged my personality and dreams; the purpose and beliefs I stand for are a direct product of the chaotic and colorful world of ideas that slapped me on the face the moment I stepped into Tortuguero that August of 2016. Talking about Tortuguero, the legendary hero of this peculiar residence is a Lewis and Clark alumni, Honoré. It’s interesting to follow the steps of the man whose name I’ve chanted dozens of times around the residence square.

I consider myself a very multicultural individual within the realms of Latin America, as I have had the opportunity to visit several countries in the region and the amazing experience of living two years in México and two years in Chile. Not just the accents I adopted but the identity mix that these journeys created in me are present in all my ways of interaction and perspectives on life today. I’m very passionate about acting and film, it is the activity I enjoy the most and that challenges me everyday to try harder, focus more and create with freedom. I would say that the political and social issues of Latin America are a permanent concern on my mind, and guide my inner self to make decisions about my future and what I want to spend my time and mind on in my brief time on earth. That’s why I continuously try to be informed and learn social theories and knowledge that come from Latin American thinkers about the contingencies of my region.

I like L&C because it has a strange appeal as an open-minded forest with a whole new set of opportunities to choose and strive for. I am weirdly hyped about the donut places in Portland. I’ve learned a bit about the professors, and I’m excited to meet and learn from such interesting people with mad research and world experiences. In L&C I want mainly to engage in discussions and read as if there was no tomorrow, aside from acting of course. My majors should be Theater and something around Sociology or Political Science, I believe.

I am tremendously excited to arrive at that airport this fall and start a journey that injects so much adrenaline into my bloodstream. I hope I enjoy this four-year ride with amazing people and a lot of work, thought and creation.