Natascha González Pearson (AC 93-95) was Head of National Committee Development at the International Office of the United World Colleges from 2005 to 2008. She now lives in Geneva with her family and plans to continue working in the fields of education and international development.
 

Prior to joining UWC, Natascha worked as a Programme Assistant - Colombia at the Swedish International Development Agency, (SIDA) in Bogotá.  Previously, Natascha was as a Political Analyst for the Colombian office of the conflict prevention and resolution think-tank International Crisis Group, and a Political and Economic Analyst for the Colombian Coffee Federation.   In 2003 Natascha worked intensely on the Return, Resettlement and Reintegration experiences of Internal Refugees, coordinating an international seminar with specific reference to the Colombian situation. Natascha was also an active member of the Colombia National Committee for seven years.

 

“When the UWC International Office was recruiting for someone to coordinate the work of the UWC National Committees, my belief in role of Education within international development and the impact of UWC meant I had to apply.  In this post, I felt privileged to meet many of the volunteers who year after year give so much of their time and souls for the organisation.  I also saw the “behind the scenes” work that the colleges undertake to make the UWC experience possible. This led me to question much more closely my role as a graduate of UWC.” states Natascha.

“One of my favourite UWC memories happened on my first day. The buses from Heathrow airport arrived at Atlantic College full with anxious and jetlagged first years and parked up outside the Outer Gate at St. Donats Castle.  Immediately we were surrounded by all the second year students who had prepared welcome banners and were grouped by Residential Houses.  The second years cheered as the name and house of each clueless first year student was read out loud as they descended from the bus. Finally, it was my turn; and Andrew an incredibly tall Kenyan runs towards the bus, hugs me and takes me to meet my new roommates. It was unreal! I could not imagine what had I done to deserve such a warm and unguarded welcome. Little did I know then the impact that those people and what we would experience together would have on my life.

 

“I say that UWC ‘opened doors’ for me, but the most significant impact it had was to show me how many ‘openings’ I could choose from. In Colombia I may have been able to develop the talents and acquired the skills I needed to be where I am now, but not the vision or indeed given myself the freedom to consider options outside of the box.  UWC turned off the ‘auto-pilot’ and enabled me to discover the person I really wanted to be, to question my choices, opinions and beliefs.”

 

“I think one of the main achievements to date was my return to Colombia after an absence of six years to successfully re-establish my roots in my home country. I have now carved out my own space professionally, socially and personally which enables me to live abroad again knowing that I have a strong anchor back home.  Also as a member of the UWC Colombian National Committee, we more than doubled the number of students attending the Colleges which also increased the regional and socioeconomic diversity of the students selected. I am very proud of this and grateful to have met so many talented young Colombians in the process.

 

“One of the most evident differences between my previous schooling and UWC was the diversity of opinions, religions, backgrounds and motivations among my peers at the College. This was so prevalent that it became the backdrop on which we led our lives at UWC; you ended up taking it for granted rather than over-analysing it. The lessons I learnt within this context are invaluable and I cannot think of many other environments that would offer this “immersion” into the world, rather than “glancing” at it. Academically the level was much more demanding and rewarding at the same time. It was clear that everyone in the classroom was genuinely interested in the subject, including the teacher, which made the learning process very dynamic. Ironically, I personally felt there was less competition between students at UWC than at my previous school. At UWC my biggest competitor was myself, and that was a very powerful feeling".