Trek to MUWCI

I was driven to the airport shortly after my breakfast to catch my flight to Pune. My airline had no record of my reservation even though I showed them my confirmation email and number. After purchasing (another) seat on the plane, I had to rush to catch my plane.

I arrived in Pune a short twenty minutes later and found the driver from MUWCI (Mahindra United World College India). Little did I know I was on the same flight as two other college representatives from College of the Atlantic also traveling to MUWCI. All three of us crammed into a "Jeep" and hung on for a nearly two hour ride (due to traffic) through the Indian countryside. MUWCI, like all UWC schools, is an incredible place because of it's location. It is located among the poorest villages in India and this impacts the "community interaction" projects available to students.













I arrived at MUWCI where Mike McGahan, the college advisor, showed me to my "residence house." The accommodations were much nicer than I expected and I was excited
to spend the next 20 hours at MUWCI.

The front of my residence at MUWCI
My room at MUWCI. Thanks again Mike!

The view from MUWCI

A pathway on MUWCI's campus



I had lunch in the dining hall and got to feel the energy the students on campus exude. I appreciated the opportunity to be able to spend a prolonged period of time on campus (at all my school visits) because I'm able to really experience the daily culture of the school.

One of my three meals at MUWCI


After a wholesome lunch, I presented to a much larger group of students than I expected. Many students that were not necessarily interested in Skidmore came to the my presentation to see a video (youtube link coming soon) they had heard about. Shortly before leaving for India, I was able to catch two MUWCI alums who are first-year students at Skidmore. We filmed a video greeting to their classmates. (Thanks again to Matt in the Media Lab for help with the video!!)

I met with a couple of students individually after my presentation and suddenly it was time for me to go on my "community interaction" trip. I met 14 MUWCI students at the Social Center. We squeezed into two jeeps and headed down the road to a local orphanage. We spent the late afternoon playing and socializing with local orphans. I was prohibited from taking photos but I'm sure you can imagine the scene. Some of the MUWCI students have been visiting this orphanage for two years but even the newer MUWCI students had a great impact on the orphans.MUWCI students posing in front of the orphanage