How Can I Make a Difference?
Greetings from Montezuma!
Asking questions is a big part of student life at UWC-USA. When our students arrive on campus, they like to ask "Why not?" and "Why does the school do it this way?" As their two years come to a close in Montezuma, their questions change. They begin asking "What can I offer?" and "How can I make a difference?"
This past year we have seen powerful examples of students and staff asking questions leading to action:
–More than 180 students and staff recently took to the streets for climate action during the Global Climate Strike in Santa Fe, N.M. They raised their voices as part of the biggest climate mobilization in history and followed up with concrete calls to action for our campus sustainability efforts, including reduction in meat consumption.
— Our staff and students are transforming campus service, working shoulder to shoulder with our custodial and maintenance staff to address deferred maintenance on campus. In addition, our students work with Las Vegas school children, incarcerated youth, the homeless, and on local sustainability efforts.
— As part of our Bartos Institute programming, 28 students representing 22 countries conducted workshops on peacemaking, dialogue, and active listening with students, faculty, and community members at the College of Idaho.
— Students planned, organized, and launched Renaître, a fashion show that drew our attention to waste in the fashion industry and featured beautifully designed recycled clothing. A second show, with greater local participation, is planned for this spring.
The financial support of UWC-USA's friends and alumni creates opportunities for students like Renaître fashion show leader Jagoda Sokołowska '20, Poland, to move from questions about sustainability to action. Jagoda saw a problem, applied a creative solution, and rallied her friends and classmates to help make the show a success. Like so many current students and alumni, she demonstrates that the UWC mission calls for both creativity and action.
Your gifts help fund innovative curricular and experiential offerings for a diverse community of learners as they engage some of the most urgent issues facing our world. In addition, by giving today, you will help us reach our goal of raising the $2 million this fiscal year that makes our transformative programming possible. And, finally, through the generosity of the Davis Family Challenge Grant, your gift will help us unlock an additional $2 million in critical support for our students.
When you give to UWC-USA, you invest in students who move from questions about what is being done for them to questions about what they can do for others in their own communities and beyond. We couldn't engage our students in these transformative two years without you. Your contributions to the sustainability of our work with students is always in fashion!
Victoria J. Mora
President, UWC-USA
P.S. Thank you for making your gift today – and for helping our talented students and faculty continue to generate ideas that spark global change and serve the common good.