I wanted here to have a more focused profile and questions that can enhance future candidates interest ( preferably in french but english will also do if you feel more comfortable with it) because the target is the typical senegalese schoolboy or girl that wants to join the UWCV movement. So I did ask Ndeye Diago to answer to the following questions below; so please share her answers with us : 

1°) Can you share with us and describe how was your first week in UWC ?

My first week at Atlantic College was memorable: I arrived on campus on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. It didn't hit me at first, mainly because I didn't understand most of what people were saying (I wasn't fluent in English yet). I was just thrilled to attend school in a 12th-century castle in the UK with students from all over the world! We spent the first few days being acquainted to one another, attending welcome ceremonies and parties, and being thrown into the wilderness of Wales to attend First Year Camp, canoeing, mountain-climbing, playing team-building activities, or just sitting around a camp fire making s'mores (flame-roasted marshmallows, yum!). By the time we returned from First Year Camp, I finally understood the extent of the 9/11 attacks. Witnessing the discussions that were taking place around me, from our living rooms, to the cafeteria, to the lecture hall, I knew right away that Atlantic College was not like any other school. More than a school, it felt more like a forum where young people got together to have fruitful exchanges and promote international understanding. Indeed, there was no better time to attend a UWC.

2°) Briefly describe your school before Atlantic College and what life was in your former college before UWC.

Before Atlantic College, I attended La Maison D'Education Mariama Ba, the only public all-girl boarding school in Senegal.   

3°) Please describe your admission process from UWC to University, especially the SAT, etc and the scholarship offer to enter your university.

I applied to several universities in the US, the UK and Canada, with the UK being my first choice. Unfortunately, there weren't many opportunities to obtain scholarships in the UK nor in Canada and applying for universities in the US meant I had to take the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs). The difficulty in taking a standardized test like the SAT lie within the fact they tend to be tailored for students who have been through the local educational system, which wasn't the case for me. Fortunately, SAT scores are not the only factor taken into account, colleges also look at overall academic background and achievement, extra-curricular activities, the student's potential, personality, background, etc.

Fortunately, I ended up attending Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota as a beneficiary of scholarships especially tailored for international students, the Kofi Annan Scholarship for Academic Excellence and the Shelby Davis Scholarship for Academic Achievement.   

4°) What are you actually doing now both professionally and socially ? And where do you expect to be in the 4 coming years?

After graduation from Macalester College, I joined the Credit Suisse Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) team in New York City for a year. I then transferred to the London office and worked with the Financial Institutions M&A team for another year and a half. I now work for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, based in London, with the Group Corporate Finance team, the in-house M&A adviser to the Group.  

5°) And last, do you have in mind coming back one day to Senegal and live there?

Of course!!! Who doesn't?

Thanks Ndeye Diago, Keep up this lovely spirit !!