The afternoon of January 3, 2022, I found myself talking about the latter political works of Noam Chomsky. This was not my plan for the first day of interviews at the (online) selection camp. Andrea, the candidate on the other side of the Zoom call, had an unusual surprise: in a day already full of tens of interviews and group discussions, she stood apart by directing the conversation towards analyzing the geopolitical order. Having read her outstanding essay on mutual aid systems, this was expected – Andrea studiously reads about sociopolitical matters and has built an unusually nuanced and realistic worldview.

Then, the afternoon of July 23, 2022, I again talked to Andrea (this time in person in Skopje) and probably thanks to the spotless July weather, the conversation turned to music. As a musician, Andrea is self-taught – she has mastered the acoustic guitar and the bass independently and plays them for 3 years already. From Should I Stay Or Should I Go as the first song she learned to perform, to her present affinity towards post-punk, Yugoslav rock, jazz and indie folk, to her aspiration to learn the drums and more music theory – Andrea’s soul is composed of musical notes. In true Andera fashion, she expands this hobby into the realm of criticism as well by analyzing albums and writing reviews.

I risk giving an incomplete picture of Andrea by not capturing the kindness and goodwill with which she treats others in her life. She gave excellent answers during the interviews, but asked us even better questions. She loves playing the bass, but emphasizes that she’s the musician she is today thanks to her father’s support and her mother’s karaoke companionship. Her grandmother traveled to Skopje to babysit Andrea as a toddler, but now Andrea takes care of her. Even in a conversation about empathy and kindness, Andrea raises her little brother as an embodiment of those qualities.

This is the crucial moment in understanding Andrea – she appreciates others and values togetherness at a personal and systemic level. Personally, she’s friendly, a good listener and respectful; even music (a practice rooted in community) is a catalyst for her relationship with her family and her connection to the emotional world of her favorite artists. At a systemic level, Andrea appreciates structural humanity and togetherness – hence her outstanding essay about mutual aid as an organizational concept and her criticisms of consumerism. These features of Andrea excite me for her incoming UWC adventure – for two years, she’ll be part of a tightly-knit community, and for her entire life onwards she’ll be part of a movement aimed at systemic change.

Ilija, August 2022