DILIJAN, Armenia—UWC Dilijan celebrates the graduation of its 4th class of graduates—104 international students. With this, the school sends 104 young ambassadors with a knowledge of, and connection to, Armenia into the world.
Founding Partner and Chair of the Board of Governors of UWC Dilijan Veronika Zonabend, Member of the Board of Governors of UWC Dilijan, President of the Board of Directors of the Free University of Brussels Pierre Gurdjian, his excellency ambassador of Armenia to Japan Hrant Poghosyan, Professor of Paro College of Education, Bhutan, Kinzang Lhendup will be present at the graduation ceremony. Donors, community and guests from all over the world will arrive in Dilijan to celebrate the special day with students. The graduation is the culmination of series of events that take place on May 31 and June 1, including a tree planting ceremony and a thank you event for donors.
“Graduations are emotional landmarks in all schools. At UWC Dilijan, our soon-to-be-graduates have an additional emotional layer, as most of them will leave Armenia, a country that has been their home for two years. One could argue that Armenia now has a new cohort of ambassadors from all over the world. Graduations are also a moment of pausing to take stock of the progress made and to celebrate the successes and the failures, as they all are learning opportunities. We are very proud of each of our students’ individual paths and cannot wait to see what they will achieve as they follow their passions,” stated Gabriel Ernesto Abad Fernandez, Head of UWC DIlijan College
“I literally started from nothing. Before this I never traveled abroad, and everything happening was a challenge for me. I could not even speak proper English and the language barrier was immense for me. However, not giving up and doing my best to succeed paid off. Not everyone has been given a chance to study at this amazing school, let alone on a full scholarship, like me. This made me proud and at the same time I felt like I had no chance to let those people down. People who had faith in me, and believed in me. UWC Dilijan gave me the chance to become the person that I dreamt to be. We here are as a one big family. Caring for each other, helping each other and holding each other when the times are tough. I am endlessly grateful as this has been the experience of my life. I know that everything I learnt from here is going to guide me throughout my life, no matter where I find myself in the future,“ said Aido, a UWCD class of 2019 graduate from Iraq. He is the first recipient of an annual Lamiya Haji Bashar Scholarship
The graduating class’ students come from 61 countries, with 79% of graduates on scholarships supported by the generosity of donors. Students are accepted based on merit, and not the ability of their families to afford tuition. Some of the current scholarships are named after Lamya Haji Bashar, Amal Clooney and Charles Aznavour.