emPOWERgirls Story: The wider the range of voices on campus, the stronger our understanding of female empowerment

July 8, 2021

In our ’emPOWERgirls Stories’ we highlight the power women in UWC Maastricht’s community. This week you can read about Ebony Burnside , who is working as English teacher and Head of Year at UWC Maastricht.

After my two years as a UWC student in Hong Kong, I enrolled at a women’s college for university. While I had always been privileged to have strong female role models in my life, the experience of being surrounded, every day, by women — students, professors, administrators and alumni — who were passionate and accomplished was transformative for me. I learned to become a feminist on my own terms there, as I was reminded daily that there is no one right way to be a woman. Now, as a teacher at UWC Maastricht, I find myself being most grateful for our students who push me to continue this crucial journey. They challenge me to examine myself, rethink my habits, broaden my perspectives and, yes, often the students who do this are our female-identifying students. When we look at schools, we tend to measure their success by the opportunities that the staff provides for the students, but I am grateful every day for the UWC education the students provide for me.

I am grateful for our students who push us to continue to examine our ideas about feminism, demanding that it be both intersectional and inclusive. The wider the range of voices we have on campus, the stronger our understanding of female empowerment will be.

 

Ebony Burnside | UWC Maastricht, English teacher and Head of Year

Click here for more about Female Empowerment @UWC Maastricht