Interview with Xochilt Exué Hernández
Leiva
(Pearson College UWC, 2004-2006)
InterviewHaving been selected by her
national
committee in Nicaragua to study at UWC, Xochilt
Exué Hernández Leiva
(Pearson College UWC, 2004-2006) has long been fascinated by UWC’s power to connect people
through a
common purpose. Building on her experience as a peace educator and youth advocate, Xochilt now
works
as
Co-CEO of Peace First, an organisation supporting young people around the world to lead social
change in
their communities.
In this interview, Xochilt talks about how
she
developed her interest in anthropology at
Pearson College
UWC, and why she believes that building dynamic partnerships with like-minded organisations is
the
best
way to expand UWC’s global influence.
I always had this interest in social
change and
I had
been exposed at a young age to the realities of
conflict, growing up in Nicaragua which was still reeling from the after-effects of a civil war. I
wanted to understand what drove people to conflict and I wanted to learn more about how diversity
and
conflict intertwine. With my dual heritage, my father is Colombian and my mother Nicaraguan, I had
some
sense of cultural diversity, but I was hungry to learn more. The selection process alone taught me
so
much. It was the first time I’d been exposed to so many different people from all over Nicaragua. I
was
honoured to receive one of the two scholarship places, but I also realised there were so many other
talented people that deserved the same chance. This is why I later came back to join the UWC
Nicaragua
National Committee (NC). So really the ‘spice’ for me is not so much about how I came to UWC, but
more
about how I stayed. And this is what I find so fascinating. There’s incredible diversity within UWC,
so
inevitably we all have very different connection points, but it’s the way UWCers stay connected, and
the
momentum this brings in driving the UWC mission forward.
