By Louis Wertheimer, Year 12
Mr. Hall and I met on a warm autumn day on top of the Greek theater, with not a single cloud in the sky. Before beginning the interview, I had only known about the Ecolint scholarship program for a few days, as it was never marketed or reported about.
Mr. Hall is the major partnership manager for Ecolint, a foundation-wide job which involves finding the necessary resources to fund the various Ecolint projects. These projects range from physical infrastructure such as the STEM center, which was 95% funded by donations, to tangible projects such as the scholarship program. This interview looks at the full extent of the scholarship programs, an aspect of the Ecolint community that is often overlooked.
My first question for Mr. Hall is who is the scholarship available for, and what criteria do the potential applicants need to cover? The application has now shifted to an online application, which since October 2022 is available on the admissions page of the website. Surprisingly, the majority of students do not apply online but are given to the school by the local refugee centers. Potential students currently need to either be refugee’s with legal residency in Switzerland, or people living under the government indicated poverty line. As Mr. Hall put it, it is a scholarship program aimed towards “helping the disadvantaged in our Geneva community”. Applicants must also be able to speak French or English fluently, to be able to follow classes.
Mr. Hall also spoke about how they seek applicants who during their admissions interviews demonstrate their sincere interest in taking advantage of the “Ecolint Opportunity” and wanting to do something great in life. I questioned Mr. Hall about what the Ecolint Opportunity is, and his answer revolved around the abundance of resources available. These resources vary from the level of teaching, the physical infrastructure of the school, the network among students, to the psychological support available. Mr. Hall explained that the psychological support was a pillar of the program, as the students who join the program often originate from tough circumstances.
The scholarship program was the brainchild of Dr. Hawley in 2019, who had the goal to reinstate an Ecolint scholarship program, as one was operational a few years back.He wanted to focus on the refugee crisis that was taking place in Europe at the time, and wanted Ecolint to help in their own small way. Under his direction a three year pilot program was initiated, with students from Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. For the whole Ecolint team, the program was a great learning opportunity, with Mr. Hall adding: “we learned a tremendous amount”. Out of the initial cohort, who graduated in 2022, two students are currently attending university, one is taking a gap year, another is redoing a single IB subject, and the final student is taking part in an apprenticeship program, as they were not able to finish the IB, due to missing five years of school before Ecolint. The program was clearly a success, bringing a new level of diversity into the classroom all whilst challenging teachers to adapt their methods.
This September, a new cohort of five students began their academic journey, all split among the three campuses, with most of the students this year originating from Ukraine. The students in the program are all held to relatively high academic standards, in exchange for receiving the scholarship. The students who receive the scholarship have full tuition paid, means of transportation taken care of, food at the cafeteria, one extra-curricular activity, a laptop, and two school trips. The purpose of all these additions is to make sure the students are fully integrated into the community, and can participate in school life to the fullest extent.
The program was best summarized by Mr Hall in his concluding statement:“ The scholarship program is a great success that allows students from less fortunate backgrounds to experience the wonders of Ecolint, keep hope and achieve their dreams.”
