Davis United World College Scholars Share Dissatisfaction at 15th Anniversary

Students in the Davis United World College Program, representing as many as 60 countries, will gather in Wilson Hall today to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Program. It will only be the second time this year – and also the last – that this group has come together under the banner which had brought them here in the very first place.

For some Scholars, this is their chance to express the desire to see more institutional support for the Program. In a survey sent out to the current cohort of 106 UWC Scholars, out of the 59 respondents, nearly 80% agreed that “UWCers at Middlebury should have a more institutionalized presence.” When asked to rate the following statement, “There is a supportive environment here where UWCers can continue to serve the College and the wider community according to the UWC values,” on a scale from 1 to 5, the average score came out to be 3.03, demonstrating that the Scholars neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement.

This partnership between the College and philanthropist Shelby Davis, established in 2000, has so far enabled over 350 UWC graduates from 82 countries to pass through the doors of this institution. This year, as per the norm of recent years, UWC Scholars represent over 40% of the international student population. At a school that set itself on the path to become “the first truly global liberal arts college” in 2007, it will be difficult to overstate the importance of such a program.

“It has made a huge difference,” President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz said at the annual dinner gathering two springtimes ago. He stressed that the Scholars’ presence in the classrooms, cafeterias, and residence halls add global perspectives and different life experiences on world issues that contribute to “the atmosphere for education… that creates global citizens.”

The core of the worldwide UWC Movement consists of fourteen high schools in five continents. With a network of National Committees in 147 countries that is tasked with recruitment, its vision “to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future” that originated from the Cold War era continues on until today. The College, in fact, occupies a unique position in this education movement, as the office of Davis UWC Program is headquartered here at VT 05753. It provides logistical support to over 6000 Scholars, representing nearly 150 countries, spread out across this country in 91 colleges and universities.

If anything, the choice of putting a globe in the newest logo of this institution reaffirmed the College’s strong commitment to fostering intercultural awareness and understanding, the very same values that are the cornerstones of the UWC movement. Yet, at the same time, there is hardly any administrative support for the UWC Scholars after they are brought here.

“We don’t do anything special from an administrative point of view to treat the UWC scholars better or separately from anyone else,” admitted Mike Schoenfeld, the College’s Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropic Advisor. According to him, after spending two years at their respective UWC, being active and willing to interact with others is “in their nature.”

Indeed, this may seem to be the case, given the strong presence of UWC Scholars in campus life. Out of all the fellows at the Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE), for example, almost half of them – eight out of eighteen – are a UWC Scholar. More than half (8/14) of all the summer grants that have been awarded by the Center since three summers ago are designed or co-designed by a UWC Scholar. “They have developed an understanding of community engagement and social entrepreneurship from cross-cultural experiences in high school,” observed Heather Neuwirth ’08, Associate Director of the CSE.

But some current Scholars tell a different side of the story, “It would greatly help UWC students here to have upperclassmen/staff that we can go to for emotional support and other advice,” wrote Adara Wicaksono ’17 in the survey. Another Scholar, Lee Michael Garcia Jimenez ’18, asserted that a mentorship program or support network will greatly benefit especially first year students, citing that many of them find the transition to the College difficult. “We find ourselves trying hard to adjust to new cultures and communities,” agreed Jovita Ho ’16.5, “and carrying on the UWC mission becomes a lower priority.”

For some, even talking about UWC has become a taboo, “In general UWCers are ashamed to talk about UWC,” Jimenez continued, “I feel like my experience is invalidated and I feel silenced.” The result, he pointed out, is that only negative stereotypes are being repeated about the Scholars, “Suddenly I am a rich pretentious international when I am actually an American and I had [a] scholarship to [go to] UWC, and my friends are not pretentious,” he said.

The dual forces of isolation and a sense of loss are sometimes enough to destroy one’s newfound passion and willingness to engage fully in their community. Ashley Laux from the Community Engagement Office, who has worked with many UWC Scholars since 2011, understands this process, “I think it’s easy to lose that unique energy without spending time with a cohort that has experienced something similar,” she told me, “capturing that wonderful energy and keeping it strong could create more of a collective social impact here on campus.” She has witnessed students before who were “jazzed up about what UWC meant to them,” and then lost their motivations because there was no reunions where they could recapture the energy.

A senior Scholar, who wished to remain anonymous, disagreed. He worried that any form of institutionalization might just turn out to be redundant. “Don’t make other international students or students in general feel like they’re incapable of being humanitarian and committed to humanity,” he said, “We’re not the only ones.”

But a support system for the Scholars needs not be self-congratulatory. Instead, it can be set up with the ultimate aim of empowering each Scholar to become able and willing to be of service to the College community and beyond. Laux suggested regular service-based or reflection-based reunions where UWC Scholars can remember the core values and experience of UWC, recapture that energy, and bring it to their time at the College.

In their survey responses, many Scholars pointed to the Posse Program as a model that the UWC Program could possibly emulate. Naina Qayyum ’15 explains why logistical support from the College is paramount, “Nothing can organically sustain itself in a busy place like Middlebury where everyone has so much on their plate,” she said, “as students come and go, who will keep up with the administrative work from year to year?”

Indeed, the needs that have been met with the Posse Program sound almost identical to the needs of some current UWC Scholars, “A lot of times students have felt like they don’t fit in here,” Ross Commons Dean Ann Hanson told me. “Posse has helped students feel like this is their place and their campus.”

A significant number of those who responded to the survey also suggested a UWC+1 Retreat modeled after the Posse+1 Retreat. “I like the idea of UWC+1 retreat,” wrote a senior who chose to remain anonymous, “particularly because there is confusion about what UWC is or why we are represented in such [a] high number here.” Schoenfeld also used the Poss+1 Retreat as a model, “you get students from all different backgrounds, and talk about the background that you benefited from, some of the values you developed at the UWCs,” he told me, “Posse is trying to do the same thing… [they] bring other people in to talk about some of things they learned in Posse training.”