Interview with Ruel Domi, Class 2021
July 4, 2023
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Ruel Domi, I went to UWC Maastricht from 2019 to 2021, so I graduated two years ago. I am from Albania and while I currently am back in Albania for the holidays, I normally study and live in the US, attending Concordia College. I am double majoring in Political science and Finance. And I would like to add that I really appreciate the opportunity to share some of my experiences through this interview.
What have you been up to since graduation from UWCM?
After I graduated, I enjoyed a well-deserved summer off and after that, I immediately began college. I have been mainly studying and working. One of my priorities was to start working just as I started studying to have the same experience as many American students have that they study and work at the same time. Last year, I had an internship at a law firm in the area where I live as a finance intern which was a very good experience to mix my field of study and law which is something that I am also interested in. During the last two years at Concordia, I have been involved in a number of student organisations, for example, I take part in the Mock Trial which is, in essence, a litigation competition, a kind of a fake trial.
How have you been involved with the UWC movement? In what ways have you been able to give back so far?
As an alumni representative for the of Class 2021, I have been involved in preparing an online gathering for my co-years to reconnect with each other and with UWCM as well as preparing videos and materials for our first years and their graduation. I was also involved in the national committee of UWC Albania and I took part in the selection process. I was involved in reading applications and conducting online interviews. It was my first time helping out and it was a great experience to see all the interest and motivation of the students and to interact with them.
How do you plan to give back in the future?
Maybe I should teach at a UWC school? Hahaha, joking!
I recently discovered that I like creating structures and making policy, and I would like to include the UWC mission – uniting people for peace and a sustainable future, and what it means in the policymaking that I want to do. Through policy making, we must ensure peace and lay the foundations for sustainable systems, systems that work for everyone, inclusive systems.
How about living the UWC mission? How do you see that reflected in your life?
If I think about my daily life, I am focused on promoting education as a force to bring change and sustainability. In my day-to-day life, for example, I choose to walk to places whenever possible rather than take my car to keep myself healthy and to cut down my emissions. I promote education and have a lot of meaningful conversations with my siblings as well as with my peers at Concordia about how education can shape our understanding of the world and through that our future. My interest in education has led me to take part in the Student Government at Concordia. One of the Student Government’s latest projects is Concordia’s plan to have zero carbon emissions by 2030.
In addition, I continue to educate myself on a wide range of topics. I remember that when I was at UWC, I was rather stuck on one side of the opinion spectrum and I wouldn’t let my mind be open to different perspectives. Now a lot of the things that I learned at UWC kick in now, two years later. I call it the UWC effect – sometimes we need some more time to digest what we learned at UWC to really understand it and appreciate it. We live in a very diverse world and being able to navigate this diverse world is a skill in itself. I think that, for instance, I now understand the importance of diversity way more than when I was living on the UWCM campus.
