Hello! It's that poignant time of year--both first and second years were in exams today, and dorm hallways show signs of packing. It seems like a good time to check in before the hustle and bustle of Board meetings and graduation.
Recent Events Much has happened since my last email of March 10. Here are just some of the special events UWC-USA has held since then:
a concert by a master violinist
a "Paths We Take" weekend featuring three alumni
a performance by the Santa Fe Opera Apprentices
discussion with postcolonial and transnational feminist theorist Chandra Talpade Mohanty
a UWC-USA Festival Chorus concert in Corrales
several student-led coffee tables and evening presentations on Latin American politics, the US presidential election, the wearing of the hijab, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and US military policy with regard to homosexuality
participation in the a global youth initiative "Shakespeare 24"
the Second-Year Art Exhibition the 14th Annual Pir Maleki Memorial Chess Tournament
a special art exhibition called "CHANGES: Sharing Queer and Ally Experiences through Art"
Since my email to you last month, I've been on the road quite a bit--meeting alumni, the US National Committee, trustees, and friends of the College.
My travels in March and April have taken me to Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York (twice), South Carolina, and Texas. I tried to get to Minnesota for an Alumni Council event, but both the weather (a predicted spring blizzard) and FAA airline inspections conspired against me.
In my travels, I was able to participate in some Alumni Council work, meet with trustees and selections committee volunteers who live far from New Mexico, and spread the word about our school to old friends and new. The trips resulted in some very generous support in the form of scholarship and endowment funding.
We are so grateful to all who are able to contribute. Our fiscal year ends on May 31, and we are still working on meeting our Annual Fund goal. The Annual Fund provides for educational programs, professional development, and scholarships. It is the fund that makes everything else possible. We welcome your support, especially now in the eleventh hour. You can give online securely and easily here.
Local Outreach
This year has proven to be a banner year for community outreach. I invite you to have a look at the list of PSAs and press releases we've put out inviting the public to our events (click here). As you can see from the list, the daily local newspaper, the Las Vegas Optic, has seldom had an issue this year that has not mentioned or featured a UWC event.
In addition to spreading the word about our programming, I've appeared on the local radio show "Over the Back Fence" with State Senator Pete Campos, and we've hosted two community forums, a charrette and a water issues forum.
The charrette was a community design forum, brainstorming ideas on how to use a large, historic building in Las Vegas being donated to UWC-USA. Community members, UWC students, and UWC employees collaborated to generate ideas as diverse as a charter school, a community afterschool program base, adult education space, theater and music performance space, rehearsal space, and shared non-profit office space. The discussion remains open, and UWC-USA is committed to using the space in a way that is mission-oriented, has educational impact and is of real service to the wider local community.
Members of the public were also invited to campus for a free and open forum on local water issues, co-sponsored by Luna Community College, the Las Vegas Community Water Board, and United World College-USA. Featuring keynotes by a local city councilman and New Mexico's Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department, the day involved small group work and workshops on water conservation; agricultural, industrial & residential water use; and coordinated local and state water management.
Spring Green Spring has finally come to New Mexico, and we have had two fun Green events:
E-Waste Recycling In the first week of April, our school recycled between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds of obsolete and non-functioning computer equipment at an event held in Albuquerque. A team of employees and UWC students worked together to inventory, load and deliver the equipment.
According to the EPA, e-waste is now the fastest-growing part of the municipal waste stream in the US, and, as you well know, heavy metals and flame retardant plastics used in electronics pose a real danger if not properly processed. Doing so is a challenge in our part of the world--neither e-waste recycling nor hazardous waste disposal are offered by the local government.
Much of our e-waste was very old, with some manufacturing dates going back to 1992. The Albuquerque event offered to recycle old systems (including computer monitors, fax machines, copiers, typewriters, CPUs, DVD and VCR players and games, radios, telephones, cell phones, cameras, and stereo equipment) by rebuilding them and sending them to people in need.
Earth Day Swap Out On April 22, College maintenance staff swapped out hundreds of incandescent bulbs throughout the Castle and changed them to low-watt, high-lumen CFLs. Having installed an energy meter in the building some weeks prior, the College will now be able to measure the amount of energy saved by this simple move. The bulb replacement was made possible by the BTU Do It Center of Las Vegas and PNM through their discounting and donation of CFL bulbs.
End of Year IB exams have begun, and our second-year students will be graduating before we know it. It is bittersweet: we celebrate two years of hard work, friendship, and growth--and say goodbye and good luck to those we've lived and learned with for two years.
We have several events planned for guests coming to Montezuma for graduation. On Friday, May 23, there will be an afternoon softball game, a picnic, and a parents' reception, with the day culminating in "Blue Moon Cafe," a UWC-USA tradition in which student perform for visiting families and friends. Graduation is on Saturday, May 24 at 10:30 am. Make sure to wear a hat and bring sunscreen--the New Mexican sun can be very strong! If coming, please RSVP to 505 454 4227 so that we can ensure seating for you and your guests.
Our guest speaker at graduation will be Dr. Eboo Patel. Patel is founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit building the interfaith youth movement. Patel writes "The Faith Divide", a featured blog on religion for The Washington Post and has also written for The Chicago Tribune, The Clinton Journal, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin and National Public Radio. He serves on the Religious Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee of the Aga Khan Foundation USA, the Advisory Board of Duke University's Islamic Studies Center, and the Board of the Chicago History Museum.
Patel has spoken at the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and at universities around the world. He is an Ashoka Fellow, was named by Islamica Magazine as one of ten young Muslim visionaries shaping Islam in America, and has been profiled by PBS and several other media outlets. He is the author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship.
UWC-USA Teaching Opportunities And as we end this year, we must plan for the next one!
Economics teacher Eyad Shabaneh and Social Anthropology teacher John Geffroy have been granted one-semester sabbaticals for next year.
We are looking for an autumn sabbatical replacement for Eyad, and a spring sabbatical replacement for John. If you or anyone you know, might be interested in teaching at UWC-USA for a semester, please contact Eyad or John: eyad.shabaneh@uwc-usa.org, 505 454 4269 john.geffroy@uwc-usa.org, 505 454 4277
Print Page
Email to a Friend
RSS