Outroduction: Alumni Reflections

June 12, 2024

Many UWC alumni came (back) to the UWCM campus to support the graduating students by co-facilitating the Outroduction workshops. What motivated them to come back and what was it like? Let them tell you!

I am Giomar, UWCM 2017, and the reason I came back is because UWC has been a big part of my life ever since I was a student at UWCM. UWC had a huge impact on me and helped me grow as a person. Although I must admit that much of the growth happened after I graduated from UWCM, it is clear that it was UWC that set me on the right path. Honestly, I see UWCM as my Alma Mater, as much if not more than the institutions where I did my Bachelor’s and Master’s. Thanks to the Outroduction I was able to share some insights into the world beyond UWC with the current students. I was involved in the workshops that talked about giving back via volunteering with a national committee and about studying in the Netherlands. I also spontaneously joined the Creating a New Social Bubble workshop.

My name is Lidia, UWCM 2018, and I have been helping with the Outroducion for a few years now. It is always nice to be back and feel the UWC closeness and connection with people again. These weeks are the last weeks of my stay in the Netherlands, so it felt really good to come back to my old Maastricht home before leaving this country. I developed my own workshop for the Outroduction, Nurturing Your Inner Child, which helped students draw and think back to the interests and passions of their childhood and see how these could be cherished in the next chapter of their lives. I also helped with the workshop about Stereotypical UWCers and contributed to the discussion there by sharing my experience and ideas.

I am Cori, I went to UWC Pearson in Canada from 2013 to 2015. I saw the post about the Outroduction on the UWC Alumni Facebook group and thought that it was great because I wanted to be more involved with UWC and this was close by because I now live in Utrecht. Together with Britt, an HR staff member from UWCM, I developed a workshop about CVs and job interviews and during another workshop, I was able to share my experience with studying in the UK. Although I am not familiar with this particular UWC campus, the spirit is here and it’s so nice to be around the students. It’s always familiar and there is always some hominess when you are back on a UWC campus.

I am Ananya, MUWCI 2020, and I came to UWCM today to contribute to the Outroduction which was great fun. I was happy that I could come back, share and give back which I was able to do by supporting the Nurturing Your Inner Child workshop developed by Lidia.

My name is Ridho and I am from UWC Adriatic, Class of 2020. I came to UWCM today to talk about my gap year experience and about navigating studying at Dutch universities. I came to share my experience because I remember that the last year of the IB was very daunting and intense. I wanted to show to the students that everything will be ok. Being back on a UWC campus brings back a lot of memories, good and bad, hahaha. It is also really nice to connect with other UWC alumni during this day and hear about their post-UWC experiences.

I am Marina, I graduated from UWCM in 2023, so just last year. I came back to campus to see my first years but also to give back by facilitating workshops which I felt were really useful for me when I was in their shoes just a year ago. I was involved with the Stereotypical UWCer workshop, which went really well today, as well as the Gap year workshop. It feels both surreal and completely normal to be back on the UWCM campus. It is still a comfortable environment with a homely atmosphere which makes sense because it’s been less than a year since I graduated. One final thing I want to say is: Keep the Outroduction going!