UWC inspires future Caymanian leaders

Dorothy Scott

Monday,  March 7, 2005

Within weeks of being called to the Cayman Bar and finishing articles at Walkers, Dorothy Scott talked about how her education abroad with United World College (UWC) inspired and motivated her life choices.

“At 17, I was 80 percent sure that I wanted to be a lawyer, but there was always this niggling doubt if it was right for me,” said Ms Scott. “The UWC curriculum gave me one last opportunity to try out my options.“

The United World College brings students at the pre-university level together from all over the world, regardless of their ability to pay for tuition, travel and living expenses. It is a two-year baccalaureate programme, which includes six subjects, three courses at the higher level and three at the standard level.

The programme is designed to promote cross-cultural exchange between students from different countries and within the community of the host country. Given that students are 16 years or older, they are experienced enough to share their own culture as well as being still open minded to learn about other cultures and ways of doing things.

But what really makes this programme different is the focus on community service. Each student is required to volunteer within the community, which often ends up becoming the highlight of a student’s education abroad. 

In 1997, Ms Scott went to Armand Hammer United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. In addition to a rigorous academic programme, Ms Scott tutored elementary students, helped construct homes for Habitat for Humanity and worked on a Navajo Indian reservation.

“I cleared undergrowth in the woods to prevent forest fires, and I traveled to Ciudad Juarez to build an irrigation system. Volunteer service is exhausting and exhilarating.”

Her friends included students from Sierra Leone, Serbia, Jerusalem, Italy and Namibia. Ms Scott talked about her close friend Nyoko from Namibia who visited Cayman five months before Hurricane Ivan. 

“I remember on my 18th birthday discussing our families. I had just returned from home for Christmas holidays. Nyoko had just come back from Kansas as she could not afford to travel home to Namibia. 

We wondered when we could see our families again. In the eight years I have known Nyoko, she has been home twice I, on the other hand, made it home every holiday.” 

After completing her UWC programme in 1999, Ms Scott went on to the London School of Economics to study Anthropology and Law. Today she is finishing her articles at Walkers and preparing for the bar. 

Ms Scott still keeps in touch with many of her friends and said the lessons she learned at UWC has helped her grow in every area of her life.

I discovered that regardless of our perceived differences, we all bleed the same blood and at what can appear to be an impasse, be it religious, cultural or political can be resolved with open and honest dialogue, provided each person approaches the difficulty with an open mind.”

There have been over 40 Caymanians who have attended UWC over the past 20 years, who have gone on to become leaders and educators as well as continue to give back to the community.

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