More Culture: Junior Mariam Sufi attends UWC International and experiences new cultures

Peering out the car window towards a sea of endless tree-covered mountains this August, junior Mariam Sufi looked out at what she would call home for the next two years — the United World Colleges United States campus in New Mexico.

The campus standing atop a mountain looked as if it came out of a movie. Its red brick walls and silver turrets made Mariam do a double-take to make sure what she was seeing was real. After meeting a student who applied to go to the UWC campus in Italy and heard of her amazing experience, she began researching the school in New Mexico immediately. Mariam expressed that she longed for something bigger to happen in her life than the limits of Kansas, so this international program would be perfect.

Mariam is now a semester into her stay in New Mexico and says the decision to apply was the best choice she ever made. The opportunities and memories made in the UWC building have been extremely moving and will never leave her memory. 

“There’s exposure to language, food and what my friends’ [diverse] lives back home look like,” Mariam said. “My teachers are all from different backgrounds, and if not, have taught abroad. I’ve heard stories of both dumpster-diving in Trader Joe’s and teaching experiences in Africa.”

UWC specializes in creating an immersive international environment for students with mandatory meetings every-so-often during the school year, where they discuss global issues and how one can improve the world, anything from waste management to global politics. With around 200 teens on campus, the program pulls students from over 90 countries for the New Mexico campus.

Although she felt a connection to the campus almost immediately, but the price of tuition was holding her back. Once she visited the campus, she applied to every aid program possible. Mariam says that she received about $36,000 in merit-based aid. With that in mind, there was no hesitation in submitting her final application to officially become a student at UWC. Mariam’s mom Tammy Sufi is so excited about the opportunity for her, and will continue to show her support miles away.

“I’m really proud of her for going after something she was interested in,” Tammy said. “Everything was her idea. She took the initiative to apply to the school and secure a scholarship.”

One opportunity the school offers is “southwest studies” trips — where students can travel in the state of New Mexico and Arizona. A recent trip Mariam went on was to visit local native reservations and see what they can do to learn about natives and their culture. UWC’s program strives to make leaders for their generation, and these opportunities can help students gain a perspective of the world around them. 

Some of Mariam’s favorite memories from campus are on these trips, from harvesting corn with her friends to visiting native markets. This specific experience entailed studying for around a week in the reservation learning about sustainability and what Gen Z can do as a generation to help natives and their lifestyle. Mariam had so much fun and learned a lot, another one of her best friends that she met from UWC, Alice Xu went on a similar trip in the Grand Canyon.

“Both trips got to spend time in the grand canyon, we both had an absolutely lovely time,” said Xu.

At UWC students also have Wednesdays off to go and work out in the community, Mariam spends her day at a local farm getting to learn about agriculture and build relationships with farmers native to the area. The chance to escape for a day makes Mariam’s stress melt away.

Mariam credits the school for improving her well-being and productivity in completing work, saying having more independence while focusing on academics has paid off. She’s always been very successful in school, taking Honors Precalculus freshman year. Her brother, Hassan Sufi, shows admiration for the strides that she took in setting her future up for the best it can be.

“I’m super glad that she found a place where she feels like she fits in great and will help her reach her goals and aspirations,” said Hassan.

UWC has changed Mariam’s life and has given her opportunities she never imagined were possible. 

“There’s a different part of the world sitting in a room to my left and right,” Mariam said.