Sarah Alfonso

• Before coming to UWCEA, I had attended a Creative Writing internship, and I won the best article award
• This internship was called United Worldwide, run by 2 UWC Students from UWCSEA in Singapore
• It was to equip passionate writers with article writing skills from all the UWCs so that they can start up creative writing clubs in their respective UWC schools
• In Quarter 2 of my first semester at UWCEA, I started a creative writing CCA at school, where I taught the students how to write poems, articles and stories alongside 2 friends
• This included a commitment amidst my busy school schedule I had to give time to making lessons to teach and it has made me grow a lot in my knowledge of writing because I ended up learning a lot from those who were part of the creative writing workshop.

• Teaching students about youth empowerment in climate justice, environmental conservation and sustainability fields
• They are taught the basics they need to know about climate change, environmental conservation and how they, as youths, can be part of the force advocating for justice to be done to mother Earth using their talents
• They also get taught how they can use their creative skills for advocating
• They are taught how to write poems, articles and stories and use it to advocate
• We performed a joint poem at United World College day which had the theme of 'Shaping a sustainable future'.

• It's a Talent show organized by a student in our school once every semester and allows students and staff from the school to showcase talents that they had
• I always sung at everyone of the Talent Shows in my school and major school events ranging from Assemblies to graduation and celebration of the United World College day.
• This enhanced my vocal ability to sing and also improved my stage performance skills.

- Regularly updating the Social Media platform to increase engagement of people.

- Staying connected with every member of the national committee, the current UWC Students and Alumni so as to be able to update the Social Media platform with Available News.

- Connecting all UWC Students together so as for them to know each other and who to ask for help incase of any need for clarification.

• We discuss issues to deal with sustainability at UWCEA Campus and create projects to deal with the issues
• On a green energy We worked on a project that is worth $15,000
• This money will be used to install solar panels in the school as a way to reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainability
• Another project is 'Stay Local', where students are convinced to stay in Tanzania during their break and pursue an internship provided by partner organizations
• This reduces carbon footprint for those traveling abroad and also saves money.
• Collaborated with other co-leaders on strategic planning initiatives to align team goals with company objectives.
• Participated in recruitment efforts including interviewing candidates, evaluating qualifications, selecting new hires who contributed positively to the overall team dynamic.
• Identified opportunities for process improvements, resulting in increased productivity and cost savings.

• We meet every week and practice songs to perform at big events at school such as school closing assemblies
• I am the lead singer, supported by a few students who play instruments
• In addition to that, I also play the piano sometimes as a supplement to the band
• I have been part of the Band for 3 semesters out of the 4 that I have in the school.

• This is an Organization I founded due to my love for sustainability and environmental conservation.
• I carried out my first project in South Sudan during my grade 11 summer
• This was a creative writing workshop, where I taught students from two schools about the environment, climate Change and sustainability
• I also taught them creative writing skills, how to use their artistic talents as young people to create awareness about issues facing planet earth
• Youth empowerment in Climate Justice, Environmental Conservation and climate change are my first aim of the Olexa Sustainability organization
• It was my duty as the founder to run this project and make it successful.
• Collaborates with a student from Canada that i met at Yale Young Global Scholars on a project to improve my community perception on environmental conservation.
• I was a judge at a student organized sustainability challenge by Steamboat, a student organisation dealing with Innovate environmental solutions and Youth Involvement.
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• A rigorous 2-week study on areas of politics, law and economics with students from all over the world
• We engaged in lectures from professors, workshops, seminars and discussions
• We had a 2 day simulation about addressing an urgent climate disaster and drafted a climate resolution
• I wrote a research paper about environmental Conservation in my country South Sudan and presented it
• Got a chance to speak about Youth Empowerment in the Climate Justice, environmental conservation and sustainability at a YYGS Speaker series.
• Conducted academic research, contributing valuable findings to faculty's knowledge base.

• This is a virtual program where a group of 5 students from all over the world are assigned Mentors/ Coaches who meet with us for 6 months every fortnight
• I benefited a lot because it was hard for me at school, the IB is such a rigorous program and I sometimes was mentally broken, so this mentorship program helped me a lot
• This also gave me the skills to become a peer mentor so that I can be able to help students such as myself deal with their rigorous school life while preparing for what the future has in store for them
• It was during these sessions that I am empowered to inspire girls like me from my country to look forward to positive change they can make in their communities.

• This was a poetry contest where I was selected to represent my country South Sudan in Kenya
• The poetry contest was about governance and accountability in our respective countries
• We had a 3-day workshop before the contest about networking and getting to explore art and culture in the City of Kisumu in Kenya
• I got to perform a poem for the Governor of Kisumu
• On the evening of the third day, we had the poetry contest where I emerged as a semi-finalist.

• This was a 2-day workshop run by my friend and I in Dar es Salam, Tanzania
• We recruited students who were interested in writing and we taught them how to improve their writing skills
• Writing to compile a booklet with the works they have written which will be presented to UNICEF because the writings are addressing issues facing children and children right
• We introduced issues facing children, and made groups to write and present the issues they feel children are facing that we address
• We invited a facilitator who dealt with the issue and gave us more understanding of children's rights in Tanzania
• I taught the students poetry and how to put such issues into writing, while a friend taught about fictional writing.
• There was a brain storm and brainstorming activities
• On the second day, we taught about Characterization and Settings in creative writing
• We had a facilitator who taught us things young people and writers we ought to be aware of
• I reviewed the poems written by the students and I got to give them feedback on their work
• I got to teach them about their potential as young people from my experience
• We gave them certificates of participation and departed after meeting each and every person's expectations.
• Coordinated logistics for events, including venue selection, setup, teardown, and transportation arrangements.

• I worked with a News Broadcaster on organizing different sections in the Al Jeezera news with submissions for prestigious TV awards such as Peabody and Amnesty awards
• Applied for 5 major awards and learned project management and research skills.
• Conducted research for various projects, leading to well-informed decisions and successful outcomes.
• Conducted comprehensive market research to inform strategic planning.
• Gained hands-on experience in various software programs, increasing proficiency and expanding technical skill set.