Before he ever set foot on Haverford's campus, Justin Turkus '08 got a taste of life at a small, selective, service-oriented liberal arts institution as a student at the United World College (UWC)-USA in Montezuma, N.M. With locations in 10 countries, UWC schools bring teenagers from every corner of the planet together in an environment of multicultural awareness, tolerance, and peace-building. UWC students pursue the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IDB), immerse themselves in volunteer and cultural activities, and graduate as responsible, socially and politically aware world citizens (not unlike the alumni of a certain Eastern Pennsylvania Quaker college).

Turkus was attending public high school in his hometown of Califon, N.J., when he learned of UWC through an uncle's friend.“I was always interested in international issues,” he says.“I saw it as an opportunity to have new experiences.” He went on to spend his junior and senior years at UWC-USA.

“It far exceeded everything I hoped it would be,” he says.“It's definitely the best thing I've done in my life so far.”

Turkus' rigorous academic curriculum at UWC followed traditional lines of English, math, chemistry, Spanish, and history, along with a required class called“Theory of Knowledge,” focusing mainly on human rights and the general question of“how we learn.” It was taught by Charlie Clements, a Quaker physician who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Doctors Without Borders in 1997 and accompanied the organization to Iraq in 2003.

Turkus fulfilled school service requirements by working at an animal shelter called PAWS and volunteering with Amnesty International and Performing Arts for Kids, putting on what he calls“didactic plays” for local elementary schools. He also received training as a service leader, and headed group activities with Habitat for Humanity and a local Girl Scout Troop:“We helped them move fallen trees down a mountain. It was a real bonding experience for the UWC volunteers.”

He was most impressed with the cultural diversity of UWC. In addition to sharing classes and living quarters with students representing 90 countries, Turkus participated in the school's five yearly“cultural days,” with events, shows, and meals highlighting various regions of the world: North America, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. There were also themed parties held throughout the year, such as a barbecue featuring African food, and events called“cafés,” where students performed songs, stories, and poems.

Turkus also enjoyed UWC's familial and informal atmosphere, where students forged close relationships not only with each other, but also with faculty members and administrators.“Everyone was on a first-name basis, even the president,” he says.“It was a remote, small campus filled with passionate, interesting people.”

Turkus' time at UWC instilled him with a strong sense of community and respect for others that well prepared him for life at Haverford. In fact, when applying here, he wrote his Honor Code essay about“constructive engagement of conflict,” something he learned from his“Theory of Knowledge” teacher Charlie Clements, who founded the New Mexico-based Bartos Institute based on that principle.

Today, Turkus is a political science major (a common course of study for UWC graduates) who lives in Environmentalist House in HCA 15 and works at the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship as assistant to the international program coordinator. He also sings with the campus a cappella group Looney Tunes and fronts the newly formed rock group Heroes for Ghosts. In the future, he'd like to find a way to combine music and activism.“They complement each other,” he says.“It's a great way to reach out and get your voice heard, and communication is the first step towards activism.”

He remains committed to other means of achieving social justice, and recently attended the World Social Forum in Venezuela with his“Global Civil Society” class:“This is exactly the kind of thing I hoped I would get to do when I came to Haverford,” he says.

Turkus maintains contact with several faculty members and friends from UWC.“When you graduate, you all scatter and you're not sure when you'll see anyone again,” he says.“But there's a strong alumni network, and in almost any country you can find a fellow UWC graduate.” He's even managed to find one here at Haverford: his friend and Environmentalist House neighbor JaeHee Cho '07.

Looking back, Turkus can't help but reflect on the role UWC has played in the person he's become.“That was the point,” he says,“at which my life divided into ‘before' and ‘after.'”

— Brenna McBride