Marisa Ortiz

SEVEN FIELDS — Marisa Ortiz, a sophomore at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School, recently accepted a two-year study abroad scholarship with United World College.

The 16-year-old daughter of Gretchen and Baltazar Ortiz of Seven Fields, went through a competitive application process, which included a site visit to the UWC campus in New Mexico as a finalist.

She recently received word of her scholarship and of her placement at the Maastricht United World College in the Netherlands.

“I’ll be leaving the last week of August,” said Marisa. “I’m equal parts nervous and excited.”

“This is all news to us,” said Gretchen Ortiz. “Her teacher, Mrs. (Patti) Griest, brought her the application and asked if she was interested in applying.”

“She sent in the written application in November. At the beginning of the year, she had a Skype interview with the selection committee,” said Gretchen Ortiz. Marisa learned at the beginning of March she had been selected to study abroad.

“I will try to learn Dutch,” Marisa said in preparation for her two-year residence in the Netherlands. She also plans to learn Spanish.

In addition, Marisa, who said she hasn’t selected a profession yet but hopes to work in the medical field, hopes to see more of Europe when the school isn’t in session.

“On breaks, students are free to travel,” she said.

“I really hope to gain a better sense of the world,” she said.

“She’ll be back for Christmas,” Gretchen Ortiz said. “I’m very excited for her; it’s a wonderful opportunity.”

“She wants to change the world. She thinks doing this is a step in that direction,” said her mother.

The UWC has campuses in 15 countries, including the United States, selects high school students from more than 150 countries, and offers the International Baccalaureate with a mission to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

According to its website, UWC was founded in 1962 with UWC Atlantic College in South Wales opening that same year. The aim was to bring together young people from areas of post-war conflict to act as promoters of peace through an education based on shared learning, collaboration and understanding.

There are 15 UWC schools and colleges today. More than 50,000 students from more than 180 countries have studied at schools or the UWC short-course programs.

Marisa Ortiz might have inherited some of her traveling tendencies from her father and older sister.

Her father is originally from the Dominican Republic and is currently away on an extended assignment in China as a Westinghouse system engineer. Marisa’s older sister, Pitt student Daniella, “went to Spain for a month through Pitt and is headed to Honduras” in the future, said Gretchen Ortiz.

“These kids like to travel,” their mother said.

In the meantime before her departure, Marisa said “I’m going to spend a lot of time with my family and friends because I’m going to see them through a screen for the next two years.”