Anna Koblanck (WK 90-91) is currently working as the Africa correspondent for Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

 

Anna studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and then spent a year  teaching English in China. Returning to Sweden Anna undertook a one-year post-graduate course in journalism at Stockholm University. Starting her journalism career as a financial reporter for a British newswire, Anna then moved to a Swedish financial newspaper, before accepting a position at Dagens Nyheter, the leading morning newspaper in Sweden.  After four years Anna was posted in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the Africa correspondent.

 

“I first read about the UWC schools in a Swedish newspaper. It was an article about a Swedish student at Atlantic College. I was still a few years too young to apply, but immediately thought this was something for me. I was very keen to study abroad, but the idea of doing an exchange year at a high school in the US for example, like some of my friends, didn’t appeal anywhere near as much as the UWC with its international and ideological profile.” recalls Anna.

 
“Going to school at Waterford was a completely different experience from schooling in Sweden in many ways. I found fellow students to be a lot more enthusiastic and dedicated than back home, most probably because we had all worked hard to actually get into a UWC college. The same can also be said for the teachers, who were all very engaged in their work and in school life. The cultural, political and socio-economic mix of the students also added a lot of extra dimensions to our shared experience both inside and outside the classroom. I believe the IB programme in itself was also superior to the Swedish school system at the time - certainly more demanding, but also more rewarding (today a lot of Swedish schools actually offer the IB). Living and schooling in a developing country was of course a large part of the learning experience too, which I believe in itself helped to broaden my perspectives and my understanding of the world.

 
“When people ask me how my years at Waterford affected me I usually say that my life took on a different trajectory afterwards, and that it was a defining experience for me. I was already curious of the world and keen to explore and learn, and in some ways I might well have ended up living a similar life without my UWC experience. I do believe though that my time at Waterford certainly added depth to my character and broadened my horizons in a way that has been fundamental to me as a person since. I am still very close to some of my friends from Waterford, and they are friends I would possibly never have met within life otherwise. I am pretty sure also that a major reason that I am now back on the African continent again is because I had such a great time in Swaziland. When I returned to South Africa in August 2003, it felt like coming home and I believe the insights and knowledge of Africa that I gained as a student helps me daily in my current job.

 
“I think one of the key aspects of the UWC education is that it really broadens your perspectives, intellectually and otherwise.  I know I am not the only UWC graduate who experiences this. The plurality of the student body at a UWC and the critical approach of the IB programme teaches you to always see many dimensions of an issue and to look for a multitude of possible solutions.

 
“One of my favourite memories of WK is meeting with Nelson Mandela. Shortly after he was released from prison in early 1990 he came up to school to visit his grandson Mandla Mandela, who was a student in the lower grades. Because of the security threats against him he never announced his travel plans in advance, so suddenly one day there were just students running up and down the corridors shouting that Mandela was on his way. We all gathered at the car park a few minutes later to greet him, and gasped in unison at the tall, thin and frail-looking man that appeared from the car. In our minds I think we all still thought of him as the young, muscular African chief of the photos on the posters demanding his release from prison. Mandela greeted each and everyone with a handshake before he gave a speech in hall on the importance of education. I usually say that meeting Mandela is the closest I have ever come to a religious experience. I think most people find they feel an urge to meet high-profile people or celebrities to still their curiosity, but when meeting Mandela I think we all also felt we wanted to retain a piece of him - absorb a piece of all that he stands for and symbolizes in terms of kindness, humility and respect for other people.

 
To my main achievements in life so far I would count my years at Waterford and Oxford University, as well as what I do in my current job. I have also written a documentary book about an HIV-positive woman in Botswana, who I lived with for three months. On a more basic level though I would probably say that my main achievement so far has been to continuously grow as a person and to learn new things about myself, the people around me, and the world every day. “