People of RCN

“My life has been challenging, but these challenges have taught me to never give up, to have hope, ask for help, grab opportunities and work harder.”

“Hope is what I call ‘the oxygen of life’. This is what the College provides.”

“RCN gave me the freedom to explore stories that take risks. I remain grateful for how the college helped shape my perspective and nurture my voice.”

“Reflecting on my time at RCN and my baking journey - so much of what I made on the show was inspired by the people I met and the flavours of Norway.”

Arriving at UWC Red Cross Nordic was a life-changing experience for me. Once I arrived, I kept thinking, ‘I can’t believe I am here,’ which marked the beginning of a wonderful experience at this institution.

His journey from a UWC student to a landscape architect highlights the lasting influence of the UWC experience on his personal and professional life.

During her time at RCN, Lea was a very passionate changemaker; she loved public speaking and politics, as her co-years and teachers would say.

Meet Wilhem Hector, originally from Haiti, who embarked on a journey to UWC Red Cross Nordic. With little prior knowledge of Norway, he undertook a leap of faith, leaving behind the warmth of his homeland for the everlasting weather of Flekke.

Meet Jeanette Trang, an exceptional alumna of Red Cross Nordic United World College, who has dedicated her life to protecting and advocating for the rights of children around the world.

Meet Asta, a first-year student from Denmark who is passionate about global issues, music, outdoor activities, and, most of all, people.

We are proud of the impact Anna is making in her home country, Senegal and the world, and we believe her project is a testament to the power of a RCN education. Anna Diagne Sene, who graduated from RCN in 2020 and is currently a Junior at Macalester College.

Here at UWC RCN I feel privileged to be in a safe environment, surrounded by people who show their support and understanding. Since coming to campus, I have been exposed to so many different experiences I would have never been able to do at home

Meet Kainat Ansari from Pakistan. After graduating from RCN, she studied Psychology at Whitman College, where she received the Ben Rabinowitz Awards for her community work. Now she continues her studies at the University of Oxford.

Please get to know Elizabeth Sellevold, the Chair of the UWC Red Cross Nordic Board and how she wants to help UWC Red Cross Nordic to develop:

“My two years in Flekke flew by – the most transformative years of my life.”

Gunvor Norddal vividly remembers her first full working day at UWC Red Cross Nordic. On the way home from work she received the shocking news about two towers having been hit by airplanes in New York. Needless to say, the day was 9/11.

RCN has given me the tools, support, and the self-confidence that I needed to expand my horizons. Every friend I made there, has made a huge impact on my life and I am thankful for it. 

My time at RCN paved the way for my focus on Climate Justice and made me constantly question my positionality as a white woman from the Minority World

“UWC helped me to escape the challenges and poverty of my upbringing in Zimbabwe while simultaneously instilling the values of empathy, responsibility, and lifelong action.”

My time at RCN has certainly helped me a lot to get all these beautiful opportunities. I still have a lot to learn and discover here at Mac and could not be more excited.

Had I not attended RCN, climate action might nonetheless have become an important part of my life. But RCN has given me two essential things which I’m convinced made a crucial difference.

Though many UWCers continue studying abroad after the International Baccalaureate, I decided to return to my homeland, South Africa, and ‘relearn’ it following this UWC experience.

One year after graduation I have come to realize that the UWC-life doesn’t end when we leave the Flekke bubble, it is only the start of another great adventure.

After graduation from RCN I had decided to take a gap year, with my only plan being working and visiting friends. But when everyday life began after RCN, it was very anticlimactic.

To me, the most significant contribution of UWC is that it gives faces to global affairs. Climate change, colonialism, religious conflicts, refugee crises, war – all become inextricably bound to names, voices, and faces.

A couple of weeks after grad, I started working on full time in Oslo in the national committee for Operation Day’s Work (ODW). I missed the fjord, my roommates and basically everything about RCN, but I think I am sort of used to live in a city now.

I graduated less than a year ago and I’ve already managed to get so many experiences in that time. In August I moved to a studio apartment in Oslo and start a bachelor in screenwriting and playwriting and quickly got a part time job at a concert venue.

It’s been almost 9 months since I graduated from RCN, and I am now practicing what I learned. For the past 6 months I have been living in Pune, India doing my Global Citizen Year.

Ghulam Ali Doulat was born in Afghanistan and raised in Pakistan. In 2001, his parents were forced to flee from their home country when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan.