Joaquín was born in the United States, though from birth his family split their time between their home in the US and his hometown in Urique, deep in the Copper Canyon of northern Mexico. At the age of eight, Joaquin moved with his family to the jungle of Costa Rica where he attended an IB World School that shared its campus with howler monkeys and kinkajou's. Costa Rica is where Joaquín fell in love with surfing and also where he deeply began to understand how important nature and sport were to his life. As he finished grade 9, Joaquín took a seven month sabbatical journey on a bicycle, with vehicle support, through Central America, Mexico and the United States before making the move with his family to Phuket and joining the UWC Thailand community. Now a DP student, Joaquín still loves to surf and enjoys training as a runner and contributing to the school volleyball and basketball teams while spending as much time as possible with his family and friends. In his spare time he likes to discuss Global Politics topics and explore Phuket.

UWC depends on the dedication and expertise of a network of more than 4,000 volunteers to find and select students in over 150 countries worldwide.

One of the most important things about a UWC education is our community. No matter which school you attend, you’ll be part of a diverse group of people that will encourage you to challenge and expand your perspective.

Building that community is so important. And that’s the role of our national committee system.

The UWC national committees (NC) are groups of people - mostly volunteers - who are responsible for finding and selecting students with potential in over 150 countries and territories. Most students apply to UWC via their UWC national committee: this way, they are assessed within their own national context by people from their own country, and, if they are offered a place, they will usually receive financial support based on their needs. 

These committees are made up of a wide variety of individuals, including:

• UWC alumni

• Parents of UWC alumni

• Education professionals, and

• Community leaders who have embraced UWC’s mission and values

All of them have a deep understanding of the local context where the applicants come from, and are in the best place to understand your story and your potential. 

Make sure UWC national committees are the best route to apply to UWC for you. And if they are, find your UWC national committee of citizenship or residence and apply through them!

The yearly selection process identifies two or three female grade 11 students, one of which must be of Thai nationality, who have a chance of receiving a two-year fully-funded scholarship for the IB Diploma Programme at UWC Thailand. The candidates, who have already undergone the rigorous National Committee selection process, are further to determine which females would reflect the UWC Thailand mission and values and show leadership skills, with intention to act as positive change agents. 

The qualities that the selected students should possess are: strength of character, commitment to equality, mindful leadership, service, and academic standing. 

Throughout the year, the young women will be invited to attend monthly meetings with female leaders in the school community, allowing them the opportunity to talk and learn from women leaders who have paved the way before them and who will serve to inspire them in the many paths available to reach positions of leadership in the future. 

 We would like to acknowledge our generous donor for supporting these young women to be able to make a difference in the world.

Around the world, from Lebanon to Syria and Ukraine to Afghanistan, children's lives have been turned upside down by conflict and war. And yet these children continue to dream and to have hope. It is through this belief that children from challenging circumstances can have a bright future that the UWC Thailand community has committed to stepping in and providing, for the most promising and motivated of students, a place to live and to study for the final two years of their high school education. Each year, UWC Thailand welcomes students from conflict zones to complete their high school education and to steward them on to post-secondary studies in the United States.

This year our Conflict Zone Scholarships support female students from Afghanistan and Kosovo. One of our two students joins us through the UWC Afghan Initiative sponsored by our sister school UWCSEA. It is only through the generous donations of our broader community that we can support students coming directly from Conflict Zones around the world.

UWC for Afghan Youth Appeal

UWC Thailand continues to work to raise money for the Afghan Youth Appeal. As a school, we have offered two places to refugee students in the next academic year, 2022-2023, and we are currently working on a project with a sister UWC school for them to fund a student at our campus. This is a project very near and dear to our hearts and the parent community has come together to discuss options for further fundraising later in the year. Further updates will come at the start of the new year. 

The opportunity to study is a crucial stepping stone for young people to build a better future for themselves and their communities. As an organisation with a mission to make education a force for peace, we have been working for years to support youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, including refugees and internally displaced people, giving them access to a quality education and a personal and academic sanctuary.