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Vermont Teen Gets A Global Education While Still In High School

photo by Photo Provided Learning takes on a whole new dimension when your classmates represent not only different nationalities but a diverse smattering of nations as well. Vermont senior Caroline Jones’s high school day is set in New Mexico, but is as internationally diverse as it can be.

photo by Photo Provided It is one thing to examine the issue of immigration and study the laws from a book and another to hold your discussions on the International Border between Mexico and the United States. All in a day’s field trip for Caroline Jones as a student of the United World College of the American West.

Tuesday December 17, 2013

By Cookie Steponaitis

When Vermont high school senior Caroline Jones packed her bags to return home to see family, friends and loved ones for Christmas break she was participating in a ritual marking the end of the first semester of college. The difference in Caroline Jones story is that she is still in high school but also a freshman at the United World College (UWC) of the American West in New Mexico. Caroline is part of the UWC movement and is one of 240 studying at the US campus, along with classmates from over 80 countries. 50 Americans are accepted into the UWC program each year, and are assigned to one of 14 campuses worldwide. Students who are accepted receive a full $90,000 scholarship.
Caroline heard about the United World College movement through the Hugh O’Brien Leadership program while looking for different leadership opportunities. “Vermonters are represented very strongly at UWC’s around the world. There are currently six of us at the U.S. campus which is more than the representation of some countries,” shared Jones. “If interested students or parents want more information about the school and what life is like here I’d recommend they check out the video blog I do with a friend of mine on YouTube. Our channel is called ‘.”"UWC-USA Vloggers" (Vloggers=Video+Bloggers)
While most high school juniors are content to stay focused on a traditional path for learning, Jones viewed the application process to UWC in her junior year as a way to explore opportunities and to see where she would be accepted. “When I learned about the values of the school and its mission statement I immediately identified with it and felt a strong connection to the UWC movement,” commented Caroline Jones. “Like many high schoolers in the midst of endless homework and seemingly pointless classes, I felt like my energy was being misdirected and that I wasn’t using my time in a valuable way. Attending a UWC with its intercultural experiences, an advanced level class and emphasis on serving your community and the world, was exactly the opportunity I was looking for to feel like I was spending some of the best years of my life in the right way.”
Jones and her fellow students choose from traditional offerings with a curriculum linked to the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. “I’m currently taking Social Anthropology, Environmental Systems and Societies, Visual Arts, French, Math Studies and English Language and Literature. Outside of the academic classes IB students are involved in Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS’s) in which we get to choose at least three different activities which involve us in the community in some way and give us the chance to learn practical skills. This past semester I was involved in Practical Activism and Marketing but there are countless other CAS’s including Social Entrepreneurship, volunteering at the local hospital, directing a Children’s Chorus in town or giving tours of the Montezuma Castle to tourists.” Jones has a current passion for government and international relations and feels that her global community and learning environment is the perfect blend for her future. She will in fact graduate from high school twice, once this coming June 2014 with her classmates and from the UWC in 2015 with an IB diploma.
While it is too soon to see how this shift in her education will benefit her, Jones acknowledges that daily her focus on issues has changed because of where she is and who she discusses issues with. “What I do know is that every day here I have invigorating discussions with people from across the world. I can talk about the crisis in the Middle East with students from Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria,” shared Jones. “I can debate the merits of a traditional education with friends from Malaysia and Finland and make plans to change the world with them. I hear more Macedonian and Cantonese on some days than I hear English. After having been here for three months I find myself thinking more critically about every issue I’m presented with. I am more diplomatic in my approach to things and am more inclined to consider a global perspective. Most of all, my faith in the ability of my generation to make an impact on the world has been reinforced by every interaction I have here. I don’t think I’ll ever be in a place with more passionate, intelligent and impactful future leaders than I am at UWC-USA.”
Encouraging other Vermont teens to look outside of the box and explore different leadership and educational paths, Jones is nonetheless delighted to be home with family, friends and her Christmas traditions in her Green Mountain home. She even giggled a little and shared that another myth was blown quickly for her when her New Mexico campus saw snow in October and has consistently had more snow than Vermont since. Reaching out to see the world and embrace all it has to offer, Caroline Jones carries her Vermont roots with her and again offers teens inspiration to explore new venues and to challenge themselves to live life by learning in fresh and exciting places and with new people.

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