Hot To Go
“MORE LIMES!” I shout to the kitchen, as if I am working in a Michelin Star restaurant. But really, the sports hall lights are flickering, I’m serving a girl from my physics class, and the manager I’m calling after happens to be my roommate.
At UWC, all of my Sundays were dedicated to Hot To Go: a unique, non-profit social enterprise led by students, for students. We created delicious meals, sold weekly to our community for a small cost, with all proceeds channeled towards charitable causes. Essentially, we operated as a fully-fledged restaurant, orchestrated by a bunch of teenagers with a shared vision of making a meaningful impact.
Hot To Go fundamentally changed my perspective on work. The tangible impact we collectively achieved continues to highlight the power of collaboration for me. The smiles on my friends' faces, tasting the delicious meals crafted by our chefs, and actively giving – be it signing a cheque contributing £3000 towards scholarships for two Afghan girl refugees, supporting local food banks, or distributing free meals to students who could not otherwise afford it. Hot To Go was much more than just an extracurricular.
Project 505
Co-Founder
Project 505 was a fundraising initiative created to make a UWC Atlantic education accessible to a future student regardless of their financial circumstances. Having experienced firsthand the impact of learning in a community built around international understanding, sustainability, service, and students from vastly different backgrounds, I wanted to help ensure that access to that experience was not limited by cost.
Alongside my co-founders, I helped develop the campaign, coordinate outreach, and engage the wider UWC community around the goal of funding a full scholarship for a future student. Together, we raised more than $18,000 toward expanding access to UWC. This money then directly helped fund a student from Vanuatu, a small Pacific Island nation, the following year. Project 505 was especially meaningful to me because it combined entrepreneurship and community-building with a mission I strongly believe in: giving young people the opportunity to learn from perspectives radically different from their own and empowering them to use that experience to create positive change.
