Sami Thawaba

(The UWC experience) made me believe that peace is the only way for two cultures to coexist and have mutual understanding.

Sami Thawaba from Palestine graduated from Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong in 2004. He is currently a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student at BirZeit University in Palestine – one of the leading universities in the Middle East. Sami continues his involvement with UWC as a volunteer for the National Committee of Palestine.

Sami found out about UWC through the Head Teacher at his secondary school. He says that he knew right away that it was a once in a life-time opportunity, so he applied and three months later he found himself on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away from home, family, and friends.

“It was a huge cultural shock for me; a totally different life for a person coming from Palestine in a time when the situation back home was so bad, when you could be killed or your house could be destroyed.

“I believe that my UWC experience helped me to further develop my personality and be aware of so many important international issues. It helped me as a Palestinian to better understand the other side of the conflict, though not necessarily agree with it. It made me believe that peace is the only way for two cultures to coexist and have mutual understanding. It made me an international person, having friends from all over the world, and made me feel somehow responsible to pass the experience on to people who were not lucky to have it.

“The UWC academic experience helped me a lot, especially in doing research; I had to write essays, deliver speeches, give presentations, and most importantly write an extended essay of 4,000 words. So when I went to university I already knew how to write reports and essays. This kind of system is not very popular back home, and as a result I became more and more interested in research.

“Once I finished the IB Diploma, I was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Alberta which I attended for a year, but the health situation of my sick brother urged me to come back home to help him. Six months later he passed away. Afterwards, I felt that I needed to stay home with my family, so I decided to attend a local university.

“In 2006 I convinced an NGO to fund a research project related to building a small car for one person and my university agreed to be a partner with the project and so it happened. A year later I did another research project and one more last year. Looking back now, I know that without having the UWC experience and the academic skills I would not be able to carry out such projects. As a result of my projects, I was offered an internship opportunity at DaimlerChrysler in Germany in 2007. I worked there for three months. I also wanted to develop my social life and build on my UWC experience so I decided to take part in the Middle East Partnership Initiative – a program run by the State Department of the United States. In 2008 I went to the US for a month to take a course related to international issues and North American history and do voluntary work at George Town University.

“Now five years after I graduated from LPC, it will remain a place of nice memories. When I look at my photos I remember the great times and moments I had there and I also realise that behind these photos with smiley faces there were also hard days and moments, but of course with no photos. Yet I know that those hard days are the ones which made me who I am right now: a man of tolerance, understanding, and peace. That drives me more and more into UWC. I have been volunteering as a National Committee member since I graduated. This year I set up a graduate network and recently I have been thinking about how I can relate my future career to my UWC experience.”