Shawnigan Spotlight

The first time Uma visited Shawnigan for an admissions tour, she was in Grade 7. While several years would pass before she enrolled as a Grade 11 student in September 2017, that first tour left a lasting impression.

“I was really drawn by the community aspects of Shawnigan,” she shares, reflecting on the appeal of a high school experience that goes beyond simply sharing class time with peers. “Shawnigan gives you the feeling that, regardless of whether you succeed, you are part of a community that will always be willing to support you.”

Born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Uma’s family immigrated to Canada a year after she was born. With the majority of her relatives now spread out across Eastern Europe, Uma has a particular intrinsic drive that has propelled her to seek out success in every aspect of her life.

“My mom had me when she was very young, and, as a family, it was really hard starting a new life in a different country. Being able to have these opportunities, to go to a prestigious school and build these relationships, has given me confidence. Being able to achieve this, for my mom especially, is really important to me.”

This motivation has seen her tackle her first year at Shawnigan with focus and vigour, building upon prior experience to develop for herself a portfolio of unique, high level student experiences. Having been a member of Model UN at her previous school, the transition to Shawnigan’s Model UN was a natural one.

“You could say that Model UN is a hard fine art option to choose, but it really helps you develop in terms of language skills and social studies,” Uma explains. “It goes hand-in-hand with my AP Human Geography course.”

Following the advice of a former teacher, she spoke to Mr. Paul Klassen, Shawnigan social studies teacher and Model UN instructor, in October 2017 about the possibility of applying for the UN Youth Assembly. She was met with encouragement and, with the School’s support, was able to make her dream of attending the program a reality.

“One year ago, I thought of Model UN mainly as a place to practice debate; it wouldn’t have occurred to me that I could go to the UN,” she says. “In a supportive, focused, dedicated environment like Shawnigan, you’re able to do things that you didn’t think you’d ever be able to do.”

In February, Uma travelled to New York to join around 1000 young leaders from all over the world at the 2018 Winter Youth Assembly, an innovative platform designed to harness the collective energy and creativity of young people and empower them in terms of international dialogue, advocacy and change.

Uma was part of a select group of 200 students who were chosen to work more closely with embassies and diplomats. To her surprise and delight, she was assigned to represent the U.S., an opportunity that allowed her to spend time in the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN), attending special sessions, working with peers and creating resolutions for consideration.

“As a student, when you’re young and keen and focused on your future, being able to be a part of an adult environment, working among professionals, is so useful,” she reflects. “I got the opportunity to go up in the General Assembly and say some words. It was only a two-minute speech, but it was definitely exciting to be able to give a speech in front of an audience that included people who were already in their second and third years of university. Everyone was really encouraging.”

The highlight of her trip, and an experience that really resonated with her, was listening to the Closing Ceremonies.

“The message was really important to hear,” she explains. “Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow--we are already leaders today and we have things to contribute now.”

It was with a renewed sense of confidence and experience that Uma returned from New York and settled back into her busy schedule at Shawnigan. With six AP courses and one Honours course on the go, as well as her involvement with Model UN, she doesn’t have the luxury of spares to manage her workload. Instead, she looks to tennis to help her relieve stress and further hone her focus.

“Tennis really is a mental game,” she says. “As a singles player, you have to fight for yourself on the court.”

This dedicated, purposeful approach extends from her academic, athletic and fine art pursuits through to her vision for her summer. In addition to attending a Harvard Pre-College Program in economics, Uma has applied for an engineering summer internship offered by the Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology (WISEST) program at the University of Alberta.

For Uma, success is an individual endeavor at heart, but an endeavor that is facilitated by a supportive community—one that she has found at Shawnigan. With interests ranging from engineering and economics, to law, politics and business, she has yet to settle on a particular post-secondary program; however, her strength lies in her individuality, independence and ambition, and, whatever direction she chooses to pursue after graduation, the future for this young leader looks very bright indeed.