Jose Melgar

It was when I was studying at UWC that the idea of being part of the development of Guatemala helped me to come out with my career choice

Jose Melgar from Guatemala attended Li Po Chun UWC in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2001. After graduating from UWC he returned to his home country to study, obtaining a first degree in Industrial Engineering and a postgraduate degree in Quality Assurance. He currently works for a German Company, Miebach Consulting, as a Consultant of Logistics and Supply Chain for the region of Central America and the Caribbean. Jose has been involved with the UWC National Committee of Guatemala since his return and is currently President of the Guatemalan Scholarship Association, a long-standing NGO that supports the National Committee.

“As opposed to my earlier schooling, UWC taught me the basic principle of learning through analysing what is being taught. I was used to doing a lot of memorising and repetition of terms and ideas. UWC showed me the importance of being critical and creating a personal point of view about things. It taught me the power of sharing my ideas without being closed-minded about them, yet to defend them with all my capacities if I really believed in them.

“Definitively, UWC has been of a great influence in determining my career choices. I ended up studying Industrial Engineering because I strongly believe that Guatemala has a lot of potential to be developed and to be an active part of this industrialised world. It was when I was studying at UWC that the idea of being part of the development of Guatemala helped me to come out with my career choice.

“I do have a different perspective on the world now. The UWC experience gave me the opportunity to look at a wider level, not only personally but socially, professionally, etc. I now work for an international company for the region of Central America and the Caribbean, something that perhaps would have never happened had I not gone to a UWC. The experience also gave me the need to be in constant search for service opportunities. I am currently the president of the NGO that the UWC Guatemalan National Committee is part of, so lots of “ad honorem” work but I do enjoy every minute of it!”