Yash Desai

UWC attended: Mahindra United World College of India
Class Year: Class of 2015

Today, as I face the struggle to get over the extremely wonderful two years that I have had at MUWCI (Mahindra United World College of India), I question myself, truly wondering what has prolonged this struggle. And every time it strikes me that not being around some of the closest friends I have made to date is going to be the hardest part. It may seem like making friends is not something limited to a UWC and therefore it is not something unique about it. But UWC is what got these diverse groups of students together in India to live on an isolated hill, and if it wasn’t for UWC, I would have never experienced this.

As I am from India, I had easy access to go back and see my family over the course of the two years. But a lot of students were only able to go back once a year for summer. This isolation from family for most of us, and the need for support in all of us, drew us so much closer to each other. And that is why making friends is something I enjoyed most at MUWCI.

I believe that Mahindra United world College of India was a great fit for me. This made me feel that I would like to continue staying at a place similar to MUWCI; a place that focuses on a strong community. Also, living on campus is an attraction for me.

And Lewis and Clark happens to be that perfect fit. Especially the Lewis and Clark campus as it is known to be extremely beautiful. This similarity to UWC has played a strong part in my decision to come to Lewis and Clark. Although a little ambitious, once I’m at Lewis & Clark, I will attempt to major in Economics and International affairs. In the past two years my interest in Economics has grown as I took it as an IB subject. Other than that, my friends often complain and say that I would be exceptionally successful if I chose International affairs because of my annoying habit of having a politically correct and diplomatic way of speaking (I promise it comes naturally). As my friends often jest, I also happen to have a great interest in the subject.

Outside of the classroom, I play the bass guitar. I used to play bass for a band which was always a great experience. I also play a little bit of basketball. I intend to continue both at Lewis and Clark on some level. Another academic interest of mine is behavioral economics.

To end, I am very excited about living in an unknown place for the next four years. Even though I have traveled to Malaysia and Singapore and also been to the U.S on various occasions for different reasons, this time it is going to be very different and I am very excited to be at Lewis and Clark.