News - UWC Dilijan alumnus considers Armenia his 2nd home

Numerous alumni of UWC Dilijan international school in Armenia have returned to the school on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. And in an interview with NEWS.am, Japanese alumnus Kento Suzuki spoke about how he decided to enroll in this school. Suzuki said he had three options to continue his education: Germany, China, and Armenia. And he thought that he didn’t know anything about Armenia, and that's why he mentioned Armenia as his first choice and was accepted. When he first found out that I was coming to Armenia, even with his friends they had a hard time finding the place, says Suzuki. After graduating from UWC Dilijan, Kento decided to take a break for a year and stay in Armenia; he says that Armenia is his second home. Suzuki said he bought a duduk at the Vernissage in Yerevan, and he was proud to have a duduk. But they had told him that it was a very bad duduk, and they gave him a real one and took him to learn to play it. Since his duduk teacher did not know English, he had to learn Armenian. It's amazing how much Armenians know and love their culture and traditions, says Suzuki. Subsequently, Kento continued his education and graduated from Brown University (USA). The UWC Dilijan alumnus fondly remembers the founder of the school, Ruben Vardanyan. Suzuki said he has very happy memories of Vardanyan. It is very sad that he cannot be here today. One of the most important pieces that make up this school is missing Kento said. But he believes that Vardanyan is here in everyone’s hearts, everyone is talking about him, and Kento said he is here in Armenia today to bring back Vardanyan’s spirit. This year marks the tenth anniversary of UWC Dilijan. It is one of the 18 colleges of the United World Colleges international network. The Armenian branch was founded by philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend. As a result of ten years of activity, the school boasted 917 graduates from 120 countries, 98 percent of whom were accepted into the world's top universities. The school has had 160 Armenian students, 98 percent of whom have studied there with a scholarship provided by the founding family. With the establishment of UWC Dilijan, 1,700 temporary and around 300 permanent jobs were created in this Armenian city, and its tourism life became more active.