Eight former Banda Aceh scholars visit UWCSEA Eight former scholars from Banda Aceh reunite in Singapore

Eight former Banda Aceh scholars visit UWCSEA

By Jon Parr

In July 2016, eight alumni from Banda Aceh, Indonesia who attended UWCSEA on two or three year scholarships, came back to visit the College for a reunion thanks to Trafigura Asia Pacific who helped to organise the trip and Trafigura Foundation who generously supported their flights and accommodation. The eight former scholars had attended UWCSEA one after the other between 2005 and 2016, seven of the scholarships having been supported by the Trafigura Foundation. We were thrilled to give the eight former students a tour of the changes at the UWCSEA Dover campus and have them sign the alumni guest book. They were also given a tour of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, a Learning through Reflection event where they shared their stories, and a cocktail and networking opportunity where they had the opportunity to meet with various VIPs, including the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister Counsellor Economic Affairs of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, the CEO of Trafigura Asia Pacific, the CEO of IE Singapore, and the Executive Director of Trafigura Foundation, as well as two members of the UWCSEA Board of Governors.

The first scholar who attended UWCSEA from Banda Aceh was Ikram who graduated in 2008. Ikram’s scholarship was supported by the Sampoerna Foundation. After UWCSEA he went on to graduate in 2012 from Earlham College with an undergraduate degree and to earn a Master’s degree from Columbia University in 2017.

The second Banda Aceh scholar was Rossa who graduated from UWCSEA in 2009. Rossa was the first of seven Trafigura Foundation supported scholars at UWCSEA. In 2013, Rossa graduated from Earlham College and went on to also earn a Master’s degree at Columbia University in 2017.

Banda Aceh scholars

Lidya graduated with her IB from UWCSEA in 2010, her undergraduate degree from Earlham College in 2014 and her Master’s degree from the University of Indonesia in 2016. She is currently living in Aceh and planning to pursue her PhD. Rudhi graduated from UWCSEA in 2011 and from Earlham College in 2015. He is currently working in the field of Public Policy. Irham was a 2012 graduate of UWCSEA who went on to graduate from St Olaf College in 2016 and is now living back in Aceh, working in the field of Forestry. Amirah graduated in 2013 from UWCSEA and has just recently graduated from Earlham College in 2017. Said graduated in 2015 from UWCSEA and is currently studying at NYU Abu Dhabi, planning to graduate from there in 2019. The last UWCSEA Trafigura Foundation scholar from Banda Aceh was Rahmat who started at UWCSEA in 2013, graduated in 2016 and is currently studying at the University of Oklahoma with a projected graduation date of 2020. The scholarship programme continues to grow at UWCSEA due to the generous support of our UWCSEA community and other charitable benefactors. This year, 110 scholars are receiving a UWC education thanks to support from the UWCSEA Community. Here at UWCSEA we have 102 scholars from 57 different countries, with an additional eight scholars at UWC Dilijan, UWC Mostar, UWC Costa Rica, Waterford Kamhlaba UWC and UWC Mahindra.

It is thanks to the commitment and generosity of our community that we are able to provide an even more enriching learning experience for our scholars and expand the scholarship programme each year. This investment in an education that empowers students is an investment in future leaders.